The Meridian Essay Prize
Terms and Conditions 

The promoter of this competition is 360 ONE WAM Limited, a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, having its registered office at 360 ONE Centre, Senapati Bapat Marg, Kamla City, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Pin: 400013 (the “Promoter”). The Meridian Essay Prize 2026 is organised by the Promoter in partnership with Peak Potentia (represented by Chavi Behl) and Viral Doshi Associates (represented by Viral Doshi) together, the “Organising Partners”).   

Information on how to enter and the prizes form part of these conditions of entry (the “Terms of Participation”). By registering, participants agree to be bound by these Terms of Participation in their entirety.  
 

1. Eligibility 

• Entry is open to residents of India. Students must be at or between the ages of 14-21 and currently attending a secondary or high school or university at the time of the competition in June-August 2026. For the purpose of these Terms, a "student" means any person who is enrolled at and attending a recognised educational institution. Gap-year students, homeschooled students, and students transitioning between institutions may contact the Organising Partners at [contact email] to determine their eligibility prior to registration. 

• If you are a minor over the age of 14 but under the age of 18, you should review these Terms and Conditions with your parent or guardian to make sure you both understand them. We require parental or guardian consent to register and to award the prize to participants under 18 who are selected as winners.  A signed Parental Consent Form (available on the competition website at www.The Meridian Essay Prize.com) must be submitted at the time of registration for all participants under 18. If we learn that we have collected information from an individual under the age of 18 without parental consent, then we will delete that information as soon as possible and disqualify the relevant entry.  

• We will ask you to provide proof of identity, residency, and age, to confirm that you are eligible to participate. Acceptable forms of proof include a valid school or college identity card, Aadhaar card, passport, or such other documents as the Organising Partners may notify from time to time. 

• You may only enter once and in your own name. 

• If you (or your immediate family or housemates) are employees or contractors of the Promoter, or its subsidiaries or parent or affiliated companies, or of Peak Potentia,  you not eligible to participate. 

• The laws in some places may not allow the Promoter to run such promotions, so this competition and these Terms of Participation are void in those places. 
   

2. Registration 

• Registration in the competition constitutes acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. The Meridian Essay Prize Team reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions without notice and at its sole discretion. Any amendments will be published on the competition website at www.TheMeridianEssayPrize.com and will take effect upon publication. 

• The registration fee must be paid via the payment gateway at the time of registration.  Registration fees are as follows:

• The Regular registration fee is INR 200+GST per student. Regular registration is open from dates: August 15 2026 to September 30 2026, 23:59 (IST+0) 

• The registration form closes automatically on September 30, 2026, 23:59 (IST+0). No registrations will be accepted after this time. 

• All correspondence regarding the THE MERIDIAN ESSAY PRIZE 2026 Competition will be made through the contact details provided when registering. It is the participant’s responsibility to ensure that the contact details provided are accurate and up to date.
   

THE MERIDIAN ESSAY PRIZE 2026 is not responsible for updating incorrect contact details provided at registration. It is the participant's responsibility to ensure that the contact details provided are accurate and up to date. 
 

3. Cancellation policy. 

• Registration fees are non-refundable in all circumstances, including where a participant voluntarily withdraws from the completion.  

• In the event that the competition is cancelled or curtailed by the Organising Partners for reasons within their reasonable control, registration fees will similarly not be refunded. In the event of cancellation due to circumstances entirely beyond the Organising Partners' reasonable control (see Clause 8.1), the Organising Partners will endeavour to notify participants promptly but shall have no liability for any loss arising from such cancellation. 

• By paying the registration fee and submitting your registration form, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to the The Meridian Essay Prize 2026 no-refund policy set out in this Section 3. 
   

4. Competition Rules 

The Meridian Essay Prize is open to students aged 14–21 across three age-based categories:  

• Category A: Ages 14–16 (Secondary School) 

• Category B: Ages 17–18 (Senior Secondary / High School) 

• Category C: Ages 19–21 (Undergraduate / University) 

• Participants must register in the category corresponding to their age as of the date of registration. The Organising Partners reserve the right to verify category eligibility at any stage of the competition. 

• The Timeline of the competition is as follows:  

  • Competition website live for submissions: August 15, 2026 

  • Submission portal closes: September 30, 2026, 23:59 (IST) 

  • Winners announced: November 30, 2026 

• All changes to these timelines or the competition rules will be published on the competition website www.The Meridian Essay Prize.com. Participants are responsible for monitoring the website for updates.  

• Participants must submit their work before the specified deadlines. No late submissions will be accepted under any circumstances.  

• By submitting your work, you confirm that the entirety of your entry is your own original work and that it has not been previously published or submitted to any other competition. It’s your responsibility to ensure that your entry does not infringe on any third-party rights, including copyright, and that it does not contain any plagiarised content or content generated by artificial intelligence tools. Breach of this clause will result in immediate disqualification.  
   

5. Academic Integrity and Disqualification  

• All entries must be the sole, original work of the registered participant. The following conduct will result in immediate disqualification: 

  • Plagiarism of any kind, including unattributed paraphrasing of third-party material; 

  • Use of artificial intelligence writing or paraphrasing tools (including but not limited to large language models) to generate or substantially assist in drafting the entry; 

  • Collaborative writing with any other person; 

  • Submission of work previously submitted for academic assessment or published elsewhere; 

  • Any misrepresentation regarding the participant's identity, age, or eligibility. 

• The Organising Partners reserve the right to use plagiarism detection software and AI detection tools to assess submissions. Participants consent to their submissions being processed through such tools. 

• Decisions on disqualification are made at the sole discretion of the Organising Partners and are final. No correspondence will be entered into regarding disqualification decisions. 
   

6. Judging  

• Entries will be assessed by a panel of judges appointed by the Organising Partners (the "Judging Panel"). Details of the judging criteria and the composition of the Judging Panel will be published on the competition website at www.The Meridian Essay Prize.com. 

• The decisions of the Judging Panel are final and binding in all respects. No correspondence or discussion will be entered into regarding judging decisions or outcomes. 

• The Organising Partners reserve the right to withhold a prize in any category if, in the opinion of the Judging Panel, no entry of sufficient merit has been received. 
   

7. Prizes 

• There will be 8 prizes awarded in each of the three competition categories, as follows:  

  • 1st Place: INR 1,00,000 cash, Certificate of Excellence and 6 months mentorship. 

  • 2nd Place: INR 60,000 cash, Certificate of Excellence, and 3 months mentorship. 

  • 3rd Place: INR 40,000 cash prize and Certificate of Merit. 

• Additionally, 5 prizes of INR 10,000 each and a Certificate of High Commendation will be awarded in each category. 

• All cash prizes are subject to applicable taxes under Indian law. Tax liability on prizes received rests solely with the winner. Winners are responsible for complying with their own tax obligations. The Organising Partners shall not be liable for any tax payable by a winner on account of receiving a prize.  

  • Results & Winners — Date to be announced. Winners must claim their prizes by October 31, 2026. Prizes not claimed by this date will be forfeited.  

  • For winners under the age of 18, cash prizes will be disbursed to the bank account of the winner's parent or legal guardian, subject to receipt of verified parental or guardian consent and requisite bank details. The Organising Partners reserve the right to request supporting documentation before disbursing any prize. 

  • Prizes are not transferable, exchangeable, or refundable. No cash alternative will be offered in lieu of any non-cash element of a prize. 
     

8. Competition Management 

• If this Competition is interfered with in any way or is not capable of being conducted as reasonably anticipated due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the The Meridian Essay Prize Team (including but not limited to acts of God, pandemic, regulatory action, or technical failure), the The Meridian Essay Prize Team reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to the fullest extent permitted by law (a) to disqualify any participant; or (b) subject to any written directions from a regulatory authority, to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the Competition, as appropriate. 

• By registering for this competition, you consent to your personal data being shared with the organising partners of the competition. For the avoidance of doubt, this includes The Harvard Crimson and Crimson Education, and Peak Potentia. Data will be processed in accordance with Section 10 of these Terms and the Privacy Policy hosted at www.The Meridian Essay Prize.com. 

• Except for any liability that cannot be excluded by law, the The Meridian Essay Prize Team, the Promoter (360 ONE WAM Limited), and the Organising Partners (including its officers, employees, and agents) excludes all liability (including negligence), for: (a) any personal injury; or (b) any loss or damage (including loss of opportunity); whether direct, indirect, special or consequential, arising in any way out of the competition, including, but not limited to: (i) any technical difficulties or equipment malfunction (whether or not under The Meridian Essay Prize Team’s control); (ii) any theft, unauthorised access or third party interference; (iii) any entry or prize claim that is late, lost, altered, damaged or misdirected;  (iv) any variation in prize value ; (v) any tax liability incurred by a winner or participant; or (vi) use of the prizes. 

• Each participant indemnifies and keeps indemnified THE MERIDIAN ESSAY PRIZE Team against all claims, losses, damages and expenses suffered by THE MERIDIAN ESSAY PRIZE Team or any third parties arising out of the breach of these Terms and Conditions by the participant, the conduct of the participant in the Competition or the use of any components of the prizes. 
   

9. Intellectual Property.  

• Participants retain copyright in their submitted entries. By submitting your entry, each participant grants the Promoter and the Organising partners a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to review, print, publish, broadcast, distribute, and use the entry, and the participant’s name, in any media for the purpose of: (a) administering and promoting The Meridian Essay Prize 2026 and future editions of the The Meridian Essay Prize initiative; and (b) the promoter’s and Organising Partners’ non-commercial educational and public relations activities. The licence does not extend to commercial advertising use of the entry without the participant’s further written consent.  

• Participants retain their moral rights in their entries as provided under the Copyright Act, 1957, including the right of attribution and the right to object to derogatory treatment of their work. Where the Promoter or Organising Partners publish or broadcast an entry, they will use reasonable efforts to attribute the work to the participant. 

• By submitting an entry, you warrant that: (a) the entry is your original work; (b) you are the sole author and owner of all intellectual property rights in the entry; (c) the entry does not infringe the intellectual property rights or any other rights of any third party; and (d) you have the full right and authority to grant the licence in Clause 9.1. 
   

10. Personal data.  

• Any personal information collected by the Promoter through, or in connection with, the competition will be processed in accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA) and the Privacy Policy available on the competition website at www.The Meridian Essay Prize.com. In the event of any conflict between these Terms and the Privacy Policy, the Privacy Policy shall prevail in respect of data protection matters. 

• Your personal data, (including your name , your email address, age, and institution) will be processed by the Promoter and the Organising Partners for the purposes of : (a) administering your participation in this competition; (b) verifying your eligibility; (c) communicating with you regarding the competition and its outcomes; and (d) with your separate consent, providing you with information about the Promoter’s and Organising Partners’ future programmes and initiatives.  

• By registering, you consent to your personal data being shared with the following third parties for competition administration purposes: The Harvard Crimson, Crimson Education, and Peak Potentia. We may share your data with our corporate affiliates, claims handlers, and other business partners as required to administer the competition. Where data is transferred outside India, such transfers will be made in compliance with the DPDPA and applicable rules on cross-border data transfers.  

• For participants under 18, personal data will only be processed with verified parental or guardian consent as required under the DPDPA. Parents and guardians may exercise data rights on behalf of minor participants. 

• You have the right to, at any time: (a) access the personal data we hold about you; (b) correct inaccurate personal data; (c) withdraw your consent to processing; (d) object to your personal data being used for marketing or promotional communications; and (e) lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Board of India. To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Data Grievance Officer at [grievance officer name and email address]. 

• We will retain your personal data only for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law. 
   

11. General  

• These Terms and Conditions are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of India. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Mumbai, India. 

• If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. 

• These Terms and Conditions, together with the Privacy Policy and any other documents referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between the participant and the Promoter in relation to the competition and supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings. 
   

12. Contact Us 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the competition and website, please contact The Meridian Essay Prize Team at:  

Email: info@themeridianessayprize.com