Terms and Conditions

Welcome to NDTV Food Awards, 2026 (“Contest”) organized and managed by NDTV Convergence Limited (“NDTV” / “us” / “we” / “our”) through its mobile application and website under the brand name “NDTV Food” (“Platform”).

By registering through the Platform, you (“Participant(s)”) will be eligible to participate in the Contest and win awards, subject to the terms and conditions herein below (“Terms”).

A. Eligibility

Any restaurant, bar, café, eatery etc. (“Restaurant”) in India is eligible to participate in the Contest. By participating in the Contest, the Participant(s) agree to be bound by the Terms and all other rules, regulations and terms of use referred to herein or provided by NDTV in relation to the Contest. If Participant(s) do not agree or accept the Terms and all other rules, regulations and terms of use referred to herein or provided by NDTV in relation to the Contest, your participation in the Contest shall be considered null and void.
The Restaurant(s) must have been operational for a minimum period of 1 (one) year as of 01st January, 2025. For the new entrant category, the Restaurant must have commenced operations between 01st January, 2025 until 31st December, 2025.

B. Regions

North: Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh (Metro – Non-Metro List)
South: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep (Metro - Non -Metro List)
Central + East: Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and the north-eastern states (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura) (Metro – Non-Metro List)
West: Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa (Metro – Non-Metro List)

C. Contest Timelines

The Contest shall start on 5th January, 2026 and the last date of registration is 4th February, 2026. The Contest will conclude on 21st March, 2026 at 11:59 PM. However, NDTV reserves the right to modify or amend the duration, rules and terms and conditions at its sole discretion, without prior notice. Restaurant(s) are responsible for reviewing the Contest rules regularly to ensure they are aware of any updates or modifications.

D. Registration Fees

The registration fee for the Contest shall be Rs. 8,999/- (Rupees Eight Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine only), plus all taxes, per category (“Fee”), which is non-refundable.
All payments shall be made exclusively through the payment gateway, i.e., Razorpay, at the time of the registration process. Payment of the Fee in cash, cheque, or any other offline mode shall not be accepted under any circumstances.
If the Participant(s) nominate their respective Restaurant in more than one category, a separate Fee shall be applicable for each additional category. All entries by the Participant(s) in their respective categories will be considered nominee only.
Registration Fee is non-refundable in any circumstances.
Nomination of any Restaurant does not guarantee the winning of an award.

E. Registration Process

For single Restaurant:- For participating in the Contest, the Participant(s) should visit the website www.ndtvfoodawards.com, select the categories for nominating their Restaurant and fill in the required details inter alia about their Restaurant, contact information and complete the payment of the registration Fees to confirm the submission of the application. The Participant(s) can have multiple entries in multiple categories.

Participant(s) must provide clear and readable scanned copies of the documents at the time of registration. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. NDTV reserves the right to disqualify any Participant(s) from the Contest in its sole discretion, if NDTV is not satisfied with the documents submitted by the Participant(s) at any stage; or if the Participant is unable to supply any of the documents required by NDTV; or the Participant(s) submit unclear, inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading details or information.
All personal details and information provided by each Participant must be truthful, accurate, and not misleading. We reserve the right to disqualify any Participant(s) from the Contest if, at any stage, the Participant(s) provide untruthful, inaccurate, or misleading personal details or information.
None of the Participant(s) shall, without the prior written approval of NDTV, speak to the press or any other media or any third person, nor give any interviews or comments relating to the Contest or any aspect of the Contest or write blogs, post any messages in social networking or any site including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The Participant(s) shall not disclose any information whatsoever relating to NDTV to any other party. Violation of this clause shall immediately disqualify the Participant(s) from further participation in the Contest.
Upon successful registration and payment, the Participant(s) will become eligible to participate in the Contest.
Submission does not guarantee nomination. All nominations are subject to verification of entry criteria and evaluation by the jury.
The confirmation will be received by the Participant(s) via email after the successful registration and payment.

F. Selection Process

Submission Review: Once entries are submitted, they will be carefully reviewed to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria for the selected categories. Submissions will be evaluated based on the information and materials provided by the Participant(s) during the registration process.
Regional Rating: The Contest will commence with a regional evaluation covering all Zones viz-a-vis. North, Central and East, West, and South India. During this phase:
- A panel consisting of NDTV Food’s editorial team, the process partner and regional tastemakers will carefully assess all eligible entries.
- The top 10 (ten) contenders in each category will be shortlisted from each region based on their culinary innovation, quality and overall contribution to the industry.
Grand Finale Shortlisting: The top 10 (ten) contenders from each category across all regions will automatically advance to the grand finale. These regional finalists will represent the highest level of excellence in their respective fields and regions.
Jury Evaluation: During the finale, an esteemed panel of jurors, including renowned food critics, culinary experts, food writers and industry leaders, will evaluate the finalists. The jury will assess various factors, including but not limited to:
- Quality and consistency.
- Innovation and creativity.
- Customer experience and feedback.
- Contribution to the food and beverage industry.
Final Winners: From the pool of regional finalists, the jury will select 1 (one) winner in each category. These winners will be honoured during the grand awards ceremony on 21st March 2026. It is mandatory for the winners to be present at the ceremony to receive their awards.

G. General Terms and Conditions

The awards are non- transferable and are non-exchangeable, and no cash will be offered to any of the Participant(s) in lieu of such award in any circumstances.
All the rights, including but not limited to the intellectual property rights, copyrights and all other allied, ancillary and subsidiary rights in any and all media in and to the images, content, photographs, movies and recordings of everything related to the Contest shall vest with NDTV absolutely for perpetuity, throughout the world.
The Participant(s) warrants and represents to NDTV that all information, including any communications, photos, text, video, graphics, images and other material submitted by the Participant(s) for the Contest (“Content”), are solely owned by the Participant(s) or are provided with the express authority of the applicable owner(s) and the use of the Content by NDTV will not infringe upon any other individual or organizational rights (including, without limitation, intellectual property rights). The Participant(s) shall be completely responsible for handling any infringement or alleged infringement and shall indemnify NDTV, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, sponsors, partners, third party associates from any claims (in India or abroad), arising out of or in connection with losses, costs, damages, expenses from infringement or alleged infringement by any Content, or the defence of a claim or any costs payable thereof.
The Participant(s) undertakes not to violate the rights of any third party, including but not limited to privacy rights, copyrights, trademark or any other intellectual rights. The Participant(s) shall not upload, store, collect, transmit or cause the upload, storage, collection, transmission of any information on the Platform that violates any applicable laws.
Further, the Participant(s) grant NDTV, an unlimited, transferable, sub-licensable right and license to (a) use the Participant’s Restaurant photographs for promotion in the manner as deemed fit by NDTV; (b) name the winners of the Contest on the Platform, website or social media handles and use the same for promotion and marketing purposes; (c) use information of the Restaurant of the Participant(s) to contact them for testimonials and promotions after the Contest; and (d) use information of the Restaurant of the Participant(s) for purposes defined on the Platform’s privacy policy.
By participating in the Contest, the Participant(s) expressly, freely and unambiguously consent to the collection, use, disclosure, transfer and retention of their Restaurant information in accordance with NDTV’s privacy policy. In order to learn more, we recommend that the Participant read and understand the privacy policy in its entirety.
We reserve the right to alter and amend the benefits and/or their criteria, in such manner as we may, in our sole discretion, deem fit.
Further, we, at our sole discretion, may disqualify any Participant(s) from the Contest, refuse to give an award, if the Participant(s) engage in unfair conduct, which we deem to be improper, unfair or otherwise averse to the operation of the Contest or is in any way detrimental to other Participant(s).
The Participant(s) agree to participate in the Contest voluntarily and at their own risk. It is the sole responsibility of the Participant(s) to ensure their eligibility to participate in the Contest in accordance with applicable laws.
NDTV shall, under no circumstance, be held liable and/or responsible for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment incurred or suffered by any of the Participant(s) throughout their participation in the Contest.
The decision made by NDTV and/or its representatives, employees, directors, officers, or agents regarding the selection of winners shall be final and binding on all Participant(s), with no right of appeal.
NDTV reserves the right to cancel or postpone the Contest without giving any reason and shall not be held liable for any such cancellation or postponement.
NDTV shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions in the rules & regulations contained herein. All information provided is provided “As is” without warranty of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement in respect of participating in the Contest or the Platform. Without limiting the foregoing, we specifically disclaim any warranty (a) that the Platform will be uninterrupted or error-free; (b) that defects will be corrected; (c) that there are no viruses or other harmful components that exist on the Platform; (d) regarding the security of information submitted; and (e) regarding correctness, accuracy, or reliability. The Participant(s) use of the Platform, online entry form results in the need for servicing or replacement of the Participant(s) or another's equipment or data, we are not responsible for those costs.
The Participant(s) hereby agree to release and indemnify NDTV, and it’s directors, employees, associate partners and licensors, from any and all liability, costs, losses or expenses arising out of their participation in the Contest, including (but not limited to) personal injury, property damage, or any other claims including due to any problems caused by technical disruption and/or failure, server problems or any other difficulties, whether direct, indirect, consequential, foreseeable, and whether resulting from negligence or any other act or omission on the part of the Participant(s). In no event shall NDTV’s liability for any claim made by any Participant(s) for any reason exceed Rs. 100/- (Rupees One Hundred only).
NDTV shall not be held liable for any act or omission beyond our control including but not limited to earthquake, flood, pandemic, epidemic, strike, lockout, labour controversy, riot, telecommunication failure, internet breakdown, software disruption, civil disturbance, war, civil commotion, etc.
We value the privacy of our users and are committed to protecting their personal information in accordance with applicable data protection laws. By submitting the formation, the Participant(s) agree to the following terms:
1. The information provided will be used primarily to:
  - Verify the Participant(s) details and eligibility for the awards
  - Communicate with the Participant(s) regarding the current season of awards.
  - Retain Participant(s) contact details in our database for marketing future award seasons.
2. By submitting the information, the Participant(s) shall provide explicit and informed consent for the collection, usage, and retention of the Participant(s) data.
3. Participant(s) data will be retained only for as long as it serves the purposes mentioned above or as required by applicable laws.
4. In the event of a data breach, we will promptly notify affected Participant(s) and, if required, the relevant data protection authority.
By agreeing to these terms, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and accepted our data privacy and usage practices
The provisions contained in these Terms shall be read, in addition to and not in place of, our other terms and policies including but not limited to Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Cookies Policy, and any other applicable policies (“Other Terms”). In case of any discrepancy between these Terms and Other Terms, the provisions of these Terms shall prevail.
In case the Participant(s) have any complaints or grievances pertaining to the offering and running of the Contest and/or these Terms, please share the same with us by writing an email to legal@ndtv.com. On receiving such a complaint, grievance or notice, we reserve the right to investigate and/or take such action as we may deem appropriate. We may reach out to the Participant(s) to seek further clarification or assistance with the investigation, or verify the statements made in the Participant’s complaint, grievance or notice, and the Participant(s) acknowledge that their timely assistance with the investigation would facilitate the redress of the complaint.
These Terms shall be construed in accordance with the laws of India, notwithstanding the conflict of laws principle, and any dispute or any other matter arising in reference to any aspect of these Terms, shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in New Delhi.