Definitions

• By participating in the Awards, Participant agrees to abide by and be bound by these Terms and any amendment thereto
• These Terms may be modified by Award Management without any prior notification. The participant is advised to regularly review these Terms on the Website. Participants must clarify with the Management in case of any ambiguity or disagreement
• The Award categories may be changed/modified / split / merged/increased or cancelled by the Awards Management and/or Jury based on the number of entries received in any category, and the quality of the entries. The decision in this regard will be final, non-contestable, and binding on all participants. The Awards management will not entertain any queries in this regard
• The decision taken by the Management based upon the observation & recommendations of Jury with respect to the evaluation/ disqualification/ qualification/adding nominations/ recategorization is final and binding on all Participants. No claims/queries raised with respect to the same will be entertained in this regard
• If no Participant in a category is found to be satisfying the eligibility by the Awards Management, the prize may be cancelled. The decision of the Awards management in this regard will be final and non-awardable. The Awards management will not entertain any queries in this regard
• The Awards Management may refuse the entries of Participants at their sole discretion including but not limited to, if any Participant may offend national or religious sentiments of any class or section of public

Eligibility Criteria for participation in the Awards

• All standalone restaurants / restaurant chains / hotel restaurants can apply for the awards
• The participant should be 18 years of age to participate in the Awards
• Individual should be an Indian citizen currently residing in India, and legally eligible to work in India
• An organization cannot participate on behalf of its sister units, parent organization or other organizations under the parent organization
• Participation in the awards is subject to defined terms and conditions available on the above-mentioned website
• If at any time, including after the conclusion of the Award ceremony, any information provided by any participant, is found to be incorrect in any manner, then the participant will be liable to be disqualified and / or return the Award

Call for Entries & Participation

• The call for entries for the Awards will be announced in one or more media platforms and / or by direct communication, and that shall be construed to be adequate notice for call for entries
• Participant can apply for the Awards by completing the application form online and online
• Entries can be submitted by any restaurant, bar, cafe, agency, consultancy, hotel property or individual depending on the eligibility for a group of categories or individual category for the Award
• Link to fill the application form will be available on the above-mentioned website
• Participant needs to duly fill all information points on the Application Form
• Participant can have multiple entries in multiple categories
• The Awards management has the right to reclassify application form/forms from one prize category to another, at their discretion.
• The nominees will be chosen from amongst the registrations reviewed by the Jury, and the same will be divided into the two main award segments termed as Food and Nightlife for restaurants and bars respectively.

Submission of Entries- Online

• Awards Management will not be responsible for application form/forms that are damaged / lost due to lack or lapse in any communication because of internet failure or any other reasons
• It is mandatory for all the entries to attach the mandatory documents as mentioned in the respective category
• Participation in the Awards in any manner will be construed as an acceptance to the Terms and conditions stated herein
• Participants can fill the form on the website and submit the completed application form online

Completeness of Entries/ Disqualification

• All mandatory fields of the application form need to be complete in all respects; else it may be disqualified from participation.
• Entries will be accepted in English language only
• The work submitted by the Participant must be original in nature
• Management shall have a right to disqualify any Participant in case of violation of this term or in case of any third-party claim relating to IP infringement or any third party right.
• No work which is copied/replicated/influenced / redone by an existing initiative will be permitted to participate
• All work submitted by the Participants for the Awards, including but not limited to Intellectual Property Rights therein, will be owned by the Management
• No refunds on the registrant fee will be made once the payment is submitted

Timelines

• The defined timelines are subject to change based on circumstances
• Management and its sub-contractors shall not be held accountable/liable for any disruptions/stoppages/interruptions or cancellation of the Awards or its ceremony or any part of its processes because of any factors beyond its control

Public voting

• The number and type of award categories that could be opened to public voting can be modified and changed at the discretion of the Awards Management.
• Public can vote on the nominees announced for the categories through the voting facility made available by the Awards Management.
• If the participation entries are not received in the correct and defined format, then they may not be considered for evaluation purposes.
• Last date for public voting will be announced subsequently by the awards management.
• Vote will be accepted in the form of a missed call. Each application has been allotted a number.
• We will accept only one vote from a mobile number for an application. However, a mobile number can be used to vote for multiple nominations.
• Duplicate votes from the same mobile number for an application will not be considered.

Voting Terms and Conditions

• By continuing to vote in the awards you (hereinafter referred to as “Voter” / “You”) confirm that you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions mentioned hereinbelow:
• Voting can be done by missed call starting 18th November 2024 to 31st March 2025 (hereinafter referred to as “Voting Period”).
• Voters can cast only one vote per category for each of the nominated categories during the Voting Period.
• The Awards Management shall not be responsible if a Voter is unable to cast its Vote for any technical or other reasons such as network problem, breakdown of machinery, connection failure, electricity failure etc. No claims shall be entertained in this regard against the Awards Management and Voter(S) may connect with the concerned authority / network provider for resolution of the same at their own cost and expenses.
• The Awards Management reserves the right to make any modifications in the nominations, for any reasons whatsoever or amend or modify or add any new entries at its sole discretion at any point in time with or without any notification or reasons to be disclosed to the public at large.
• The Awards Management reserves the right to disqualify any Vote or suspend the voting or reduce the Voting Period in case it is reasonably satisfied for any fraudulent or manipulation in the votes being cast by the Voters. It may also disqualify the said category of nomination for which such manipulation is suspected to have occurred. No claims shall be entertained in this regard against the Award Management and the Award Management’s decision shall be considered final in any such scenario.
• The Awards Management has introduced a fair voting mechanism for the Awards and no claims shall be entertained against the same. The Awards Management shall not be obligated to entertain any requests or claims for recounting of votes for any nomination category or provide any reasoning behind the selection or non-selection of any entry. The Award Management’s decision shall be final and binding.
• There shall be no voting for the Jury award nominations and this shall be solely based on the jury discretion and decision.
• Voter(s) agree not to attempt any unauthorized access to the Awards Management’s servers to manipulate the entries or votes. If found, the Awards Management shall take appropriate legal action such Voter(s) / individuals.
• Further, Voters agree that they shall not make any attempts to spam the votes either directly or indirectly, reverse engineer, attempt to modify the entries or votes at any time, which if committed, shall be treated as an offence and the Awards Management may disqualify the voter, votes for the nomination entry and also take action(s) against such voter / individual.
• By casting their votes, each Voter hereby acknowledge and accepts the above Terms and Conditions and further agrees and permits the Awards Management to consider their votes for deciding the winners for each nomination category.

Additional Information

• Participants may be contacted for any additional information to verify the information provided. Such information sourced from the participants will become part of the original application
• A registration will be deemed accepted only when the nominal participation /registration fee as prescribed has been received by the Company through the prescribed mode of payment
• Management has the right to ask for documentary proof of information. If such a request is made and the participant does not comply within 5 working days from the date the request is made, the participant may be disqualified from the awards
• Management or the team appointed by Management will try to contact the Participant on best effort basis by any means deemed appropriate.
• In the event it is not possible to contact any Participant to obtain information on them, interview them, etc. such Participant may be disqualified from further participation
• The participant hereby irrevocably authorizes the Management to use the data gathered during and/or the Awards in respect of the participants. This shall be the property of awards management and awards management shall be entitled to use the same in its communications including marketing promotions and advertisements along with/without awards management’s brand.
• Management shall not be liable in any manner for any mishap, accident, injury, or damages etc. of whatsoever nature, caused to the participants during the Awards. Further, Management shall not be liable in any manner for any loss, damage, theft, or any other mishap caused during the Awards.
• Registrants are expected to ascertain that their respective entries that are put up on the web can be viewed on multiple browsers and platforms (including the Mac). The Event organiser will not contact the Registrants in case an entry cannot be viewed

Winner determination

• An independent jury appointed by the Management will evaluate the entries and determine the winners for the Awards.
• If required, the Participants will be asked to present their work to the jury members in a virtual jury round
• The selection for nominations is subject to the discretion of the Jury and binding on all the Registrants entering the Event
• Restaurants and bars falling above the predefined price point compete in the Premium Dining and Luxurious Nightlife category and ones falling below shall compete in the Casual Dining and Casual Nightlife category
• The decision taken by the Jury based on its observation & recommendations with respect to the evaluation/ disqualification/ qualification/ recategorization is final and binding on all nominees. No claims/queries raised with respect to the same will be entertained in this regard
• Winners shall be chosen based on whichever outlet has the higher overall weighted average rating, derived from a combination of Jury ratings and public voting

General

• Participant agrees that the Participant is legally capable of entering and, if selected, participating in the Awards and agree to the Terms and that Participant is competent (i.e., Participant are of legal age and mental capacity) and eligible to enter into this legally binding agreement on Participant
• Participant understands and agrees that merely participating in this Awards does not entitle the Participant to a prize or to any other form of consideration
• Participant warrants and represents to the Management that all information including any communications, software, photos, text, video, graphics, music, sounds, images and other material submitted or recorded in any manner by the Participant or the partners of Management including the Management for consideration for the Awards are solely owned by the awards management and do not infringe upon any other individual or organizational rights (including, without limitation, intellectual property rights). Participant shall be completely responsible for handling claim of infringement or alleged infringement by any third party and shall indemnify awards management entities (in India or abroad) and the Awards Management from any claims, costs or damages from infringement or alleged infringement of any third-party rights including intellectual property right or the defines of a claim or any costs payable thereof
• Participant must enter the Awards at their own will and the Management are not in any way obligated or liable for any loss or costs that the Participant may suffer or incur and nothing is payable to the Participants for participating in the Awards or any event prior to or following the Awards
• Participants for the purpose of entering the Awards, grant awards management a royalty-free, irrevocable, worldwide, non-transferable, non-exclusive right and license to use and display such entry, for participation in the Awards, and any intellectual property in relation to and arising out of such participation in the Awards and footage thereof, which shall include trade publications, press releases, electronic posting to the Website, the awards management website in any display format selected by awards management during the Awards or use by awards management as it deems fit
• The Management reserves the right to, at its discretion, withdraw or amend or add to the T&C of the Awards at any time, with prospective or retrospective effect, and does not take responsibility for any loss or damage that any individual or organization may suffer as a result of participating or attempting to participate in the Awards, the Awards being withdrawn, or its Terms amended
• Should a participant wish to withdraw from the Awards, kindly inform the Management in writing at any time up to one week prior to the final awards ceremony, in this case, the nomination fee will be non-refundable
• All disputes relating to or arising out of the Awards shall be subject to the laws of India, and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of competent jurisdiction at Mumbai, India
• The Participants indemnify awards management, its employees, officers, contractors, partner or other persons used by them in relation to this Awards and hold them harmless against any loss, claim, demands, costs, damages, judgments, expenses or liability (including legal costs) arising out of or in connection with any or all claims, that may be brought against the Management by any third party in connection with the Participants participation in or winning the Awards, which is inconsistent with any of the warranties and representations made by the Participants, or due to breach of these Terms and shall reimburse awards management for any loss, costs, expense, or damage to which said indemnity applies. awards management shall give the Participant prompt written notice of any claim or actions covered by this indemnity, and the Participant shall have the right, at its own expense, to participate in any such action
• Decision of Management on all matters is final and binding on all Participants and no correspondence will be entertained on the same
• In the event these Terms do not cover any question or complaint in relation to the Awards, the same will be concluded on by the Awards Management (for all other issues) or an independent body or legal team as appointed by the Awards Management and deemed necessary
• The Participant agrees to give full consent unconditionally for awards management to share any information provided by the Participant with agencies working with them with regards to the program, its recording and broadcasting and related activities including agencies involved with awards management
• The decision of awards management in relation to the interpretation of any of these Terms shall be final and binding on the participants
• If Participants are unclear as to the Terms or any element of the Awards or have any queries/concerns pertaining to the Awards, they can write in with their questions, concerns or queries to the following email address: timesfoodawards@timesgroup.com awards management shall endeavour to the best of its ability to respond thereto.

Website

• The website provides information and acts as the only means to enter the Awards.
• Awards management shall not be responsible for:
  • Any delivery, failures relating to the registration or uploading videos/presentations.
  • Any SPAM generated messages as result of Participant accessing the Website
  • Awards Management not receiving or rejecting any data
  • Any lost, late, or misdirected computer transmission or network, electronic failures of any kind or any failure to receive entries owing to transmission failures or due to any technical reasons and
  • Other conditions/situations or failures beyond its control

Disclaimers

Awards management or its subsidiaries or holding entities are not liable or responsible for any action or decision was taken by Participant or anyone acting on Participant’s behalf or under Participant employment or under contract with Participant. Awards management shall not be under any obligation to Participant and Participant shall have no obligation or rights in relation to the Awards and shall have no claims whatsoever against the awards management relating to the selection process or the running of the Awards

Management has no obligation to screen the entry material in advance and is not responsible for monitoring entries for preventing violation of intellectual property ownership rights, or violations of any law, rule, or regulation. If the Management is notified of submissions or materials that may not conform to the Terms, it may investigate the allegation and determine in good faith and in its sole discretion whether to eliminate such an entry from consideration. The Management has no liability or responsibility to Participants or other users of the Microsite for the performance or non-performance of such activities.

The Site and/or the Services offered are controlled and offered by Management from its facilities in the territory of India. Management makes no representations that the Site or Services are appropriate or available for use in other locations. If you are accessing or using the Site or Services from other jurisdictions, you do so at your own risk and you are responsible for compliance with local law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Site or Services may contain or provide links to content hosted on website located outside of India.

• The images photographs, videos, sound recordings and other material captured or accessed by any person including but not limited to the Participant, an Agency, an individual, Media Organization etc (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Media Organization”), at the Event (“Material”) shall be used solely in an editorial context for bona fide news reporting purposes, thereby providing factual reference and information on the Event.
• The Media Organization shall not use the Material for commercial purposes or otherwise in any form of commercial content or to advertise or promote any entity, brand, product or service, including that of the Media Organization itself or otherwise, in any manner, format, media or technology, whether now existing or created in the future, unless expressly permitted by AWARDS MANAGEMENT in writing.
• The Media Organization must not use the Material in a way that suggests a formal association between the Media Organization or any third parties, brands, products or services and AWARDS MANAGEMENT.
• Intellectual Property Rights:
  • Media Organization acknowledges and agrees that AWARDS MANAGEMENT is the exclusive owner of the Event and owns all rights and data relating thereto, inter alia including, without limitation, copyright, design rights, service marks, trademarks, logos, inventions, titles, slogans, property rights and any other rights held by AWARDS MANAGEMENT or which are created or developed in conjunction with the event, all rights relating to its organization, exploitation, broadcasting, recording, representation, reproduction, access and dissemination in any form and by any means or mechanisms whatsoever, whether now existing or developed in the future. All rights in Event IP, as well as rights to the use thereof, belongs exclusively to the AWARDS MANAGEMENT including, but not limited to, the use for any profit-making, commercial or advertising purposes.
  • The Media Organization waives any “moral rights” which may now or hereafter be recognized in the Material.
• AWARDS MANAGEMENT reserves the right (without limiting any other remedy or sanction available to it), at its sole discretion, to immediately revoke, without notice, any entry pass/ticket and any other access to the Event, in the event of any breach of these terms