Unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the meanings assigned below:
Unless the context otherwise requires:
The Contemporary Foundation for Art and Craft (CFAC) is the parent organisation supporting educational and artistic initiatives.
The CFAC National Arts Olympiad Executive Council (CNAOEC) is an independent executive body constituted exclusively for planning, administering, managing, and conducting the National Arts Olympiad.
Unless expressly stated otherwise, all registrations, operational decisions, examination management, participant administration, evaluations, communications, payment processing, grievance handling, and other activities relating to the Olympiad are undertaken by CNAOEC in accordance with its approved operational framework.
Where these Terms refer to "CFAC", such reference shall include CNAOEC wherever the context requires for operational implementation.
These Master Terms & Conditions govern:
Where any specialised agreement (including Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, Jury Agreement, Olympiad Centre Agreement, Coordinator Agreement, or any other specific policy) applies to a particular relationship, those specialised terms shall prevail only to the extent of any inconsistency.
By registering through the official CFAC website, authorised Olympiad Portal, My CFAC Mobile Application, or any officially approved registration channel, the Participant, Parent/Legal Guardian, Institution, or authorised representative acknowledges that they have read, understood, and agreed to these Master Terms & Conditions and all applicable policies governing the Olympiad.
Where registration is completed on behalf of a minor participant, the Parent or Legal Guardian confirms that they possess the legal authority to provide such consent.
The user further consents to receive operational communications, including registration confirmations, admit cards, examination updates, certificates, result notifications, grievance communications, and other service-related messages through email, SMS, WhatsApp, mobile application notifications, or any other officially designated communication channel.
Where a Participant is below eighteen (18) years of age, registration shall be completed only with the consent of the Participant's Parent or Legal Guardian. Such consent authorises CNAOEC to process the Participant's personal information solely for purposes connected with the administration and conduct of the Olympiad, in accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and other applicable laws.
Where OTP verification forms part of the registration process, successful verification may be treated as electronic evidence of the Parent's or authorised person's consent together with the corresponding system-generated electronic records, including transaction logs, timestamps, IP records, and other relevant digital records maintained in accordance with applicable law. Nothing contained in this clause shall prejudice any rights available under applicable law regarding the admissibility or evidentiary value of electronic records.
For the purpose of verifying eligibility, age, and identity, CNAOEC may require submission of an acceptable identity document. Identity documents shall be processed only to the extent reasonably necessary for verification. Where technologically feasible and operationally practicable, uploaded verification documents shall be processed using automated verification tools, including OCR technology where applicable. Original uploaded identity files shall ordinarily not be retained beyond the verification process unless their temporary retention is required for legal compliance, fraud prevention, security investigations, dispute resolution, audit requirements, or other legitimate purposes permitted under Applicable Law.
CNAOEC shall endeavour to collect only such personal information as is reasonably necessary for conducting the Olympiad and fulfilling legal and operational obligations. Processing of personal data shall be carried out in accordance with the Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.
The Participant's age shall be determined in accordance with the official age calculation policy published by CNAOEC. Where the applicable policy provides for age rounding based on the prescribed calculation methodology, the Participant shall be allotted the corresponding age category. The allotted age category shall ordinarily remain final after successful verification; however, CNAOEC reserves the right to correct any clerical, administrative, computational, or verification error identified before or after registration.
Participants registering in more than one competition category shall submit separate, original, and independent entries for each selected category. Submission of identical, substantially similar, previously submitted, or duplicated works across multiple categories may result in rejection of the relevant submission(s) or other action in accordance with the applicable competition guidelines.
The registering Parent, Legal Guardian, Participant (where applicable), or authorised representative declares that all information submitted during registration is true, complete, and accurate to the best of their knowledge. If any material information is found to be false, misleading, incomplete, forged, or fraudulently submitted, CNAOEC may, after appropriate verification and in accordance with its policies, reject the registration, suspend participation, cancel eligibility, or take such other action as may be reasonably necessary under these Terms and Applicable Law.
Schools, educational institutions, academies, or other eligible organisations may be appointed as an Olympiad Centre subject to fulfilling the eligibility criteria, verification requirements, and operational standards prescribed by CNAOEC. Appointment as an Olympiad Centre shall remain subject to continued compliance with these Terms, operational guidelines, and any directions issued by CNAOEC from time to time.
Where applicable, CNAOEC may provide an Operational Grant to an approved Olympiad Centre for facilitating the conduct of the Olympiad. The utilisation of such grant shall be limited to legitimate operational purposes, including but not limited to procurement of examination materials, venue arrangements, printing of certificates, basic logistics, technical arrangements, and other authorised expenditure connected with the conduct of the Olympiad. The Olympiad Centre shall maintain reasonable records of utilisation and shall provide supporting information if reasonably requested by CNAOEC for audit or compliance purposes.
The Olympiad Centre shall make reasonable arrangements for conducting the examination in accordance with the operational guidelines issued by CNAOEC. Where applicable to the relevant category, the Centre shall:
Failure to comply with mandatory operational requirements may affect evaluation of the relevant submissions in accordance with the applicable examination guidelines.
For categories requiring photographs, scanned artworks, audio recordings, or performance videos, the Olympiad Centre shall use reasonable care to capture clear and complete submissions. The Centre shall upload such material only through the officially designated portal or digital platform notified by CNAOEC. The Centre shall implement reasonable safeguards to prevent unauthorised disclosure, misuse, or unnecessary retention of participant data and shall delete locally stored copies once successful upload has been confirmed, unless temporary retention is required for troubleshooting, audit, or compliance purposes.
CNAOEC shall generate the official digital certificates. Where physical certificates are required, printing and distribution may be undertaken by the concerned Olympiad Centre or by any other authorised agency in accordance with the applicable operational guidelines issued by CNAOEC.
The Olympiad Centre shall use reasonable efforts to provide an appropriate examination environment, including:
Minor logistical deficiencies that do not materially affect the conduct or fairness of the Olympiad shall not automatically invalidate the examination.
Before permitting a participant to appear in the Olympiad, the Olympiad Centre shall verify the participant's identity using the official Entry Pass, Admit Card, or any other verification mechanism prescribed by CNAOEC. Where a participant is unable to produce the Entry Pass due to genuine technical, system-generated, or operational difficulties, the Centre may permit verification through an alternative method approved by CNAOEC, including identity verification through the official portal or other authorised records.
The Olympiad Centre shall take reasonable measures to ensure that the Olympiad is conducted fairly, transparently, and without malpractice. Where credible evidence of malpractice, manipulation, unauthorised assistance, impersonation, tampering with submissions, or other serious violations is identified after due verification, CNAOEC may take appropriate action, including:
subject to the principles of fairness and the applicable policies of CNAOEC.
CNAOEC or its duly authorised representatives may conduct physical or virtual inspections of an Olympiad Centre for the limited purpose of verifying compliance with the applicable operational requirements. Such inspections shall be conducted at reasonable times and in a manner that does not unnecessarily disrupt the examination process.
Where an Olympiad Centre is unable or unwilling to conduct the Olympiad in accordance with the applicable operational requirements, CNAOEC may make reasonable alternative arrangements, including transferring affected participants to another approved Centre or an authorised online participation mechanism, wherever reasonably practicable. Such alternative arrangements shall be implemented with the objective of minimising disruption to eligible participants.
The applicable registration fee shall be notified through the official portal or other authorised communication channels. The fee payable may vary depending upon: category of participation; stream(s) selected; institutional participation; approved discounts; promotional schemes; or other officially published pricing structures.
Unless otherwise expressly authorised by CNAOEC in writing, all registration fees shall be paid only through the officially approved digital payment mechanisms available on the designated portal. Olympiad Centres, Coordinators, teachers, or any other representatives shall not collect registration fees in cash from participants unless specifically authorised by CNAOEC under a documented programme or written policy.
Where the published fee structure includes an Operational Grant component, such amount shall form part of the overall registration fee payable by the participant. The allocation and utilisation of the Operational Grant shall remain an internal operational matter of CNAOEC and the concerned Olympiad Centre in accordance with the applicable policies.
Refunds, cancellations, adjustments, transfers, or fee-related claims shall be governed by the applicable Refund and Cancellation Policy published by CNAOEC. Where no refund is permissible under the applicable policy, the registration fee shall ordinarily remain non-refundable and non-transferable, except where otherwise required by applicable law or expressly approved by CNAOEC.
Payments may be processed through authorised third-party payment service providers. While CNAOEC shall use reasonable care in selecting reliable payment partners, payment processing services remain subject to the terms, policies, and technical infrastructure of the respective service providers. Any payment-related issue shall be handled in accordance with the applicable Refund Policy and the procedures prescribed by the relevant payment service provider.
Any applicable taxes, statutory levies, payment gateway charges, or government-imposed fees shall be borne by the person responsible for payment unless expressly stated otherwise.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all original artworks, performances, literary works, photographs, and other creative submissions shall remain the intellectual property of the respective Participant. Nothing contained in these Terms shall operate as an assignment or transfer of ownership of such intellectual property to CFAC or CNAOEC.
By submitting any artwork, photograph, video, audio recording, or other material for the purposes of the Olympiad, the Participant (or the Parent/Legal Guardian, where applicable) grants CNAOEC and CFAC a non-exclusive, royalty-free, revocable to the extent permitted by law, worldwide licence to:
This licence shall be used solely for purposes connected with the Olympiad and related educational or promotional activities.
Where reasonably practicable and subject to the limitations of the relevant platform or medium, CNAOEC shall endeavour to acknowledge the Participant by mentioning the Participant's name and, where applicable, the associated Olympiad Centre or Institution whenever the submitted work is publicly displayed or published.
The Participant, Parent/Legal Guardian, Olympiad Centre, or Institution (as applicable) represents that the submitted material does not knowingly infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party. Where any third-party material (including music, photographs, videos, literary works, graphics, or artwork) is included, the submitting party shall be responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions, licences, or authorisations required under Applicable Law.
If CNAOEC receives a bona fide copyright complaint or reasonably believes that a submitted work infringes third-party rights, CNAOEC may temporarily suspend, remove, withhold evaluation of, or reject the concerned submission pending verification. Nothing contained herein shall prejudice the legal rights of any affected party under Applicable Law.
All eligible submissions shall be evaluated by the officially empanelled National Jury Panel using the evaluation criteria, marking scheme, and assessment methodology adopted by CNAOEC for the relevant category.
The Participant acknowledges that artistic evaluation necessarily involves professional judgment and subjective assessment. Accordingly, differences in artistic opinion shall not by themselves constitute grounds for legal challenge.
Where applicable, Participants may receive Performance Reports or evaluation summaries prepared in accordance with the evaluation framework adopted by CNAOEC. Such reports are intended solely for educational feedback and shall not constitute legally enforceable guarantees regarding future performance, ranking, admission, scholarships, or professional opportunities.
The results declared by CNAOEC after completion of the prescribed evaluation process shall ordinarily be treated as final. However, CNAOEC reserves the right to correct any clerical, typographical, tabulation, computational, technical, or administrative error discovered before or after publication of the results. Requests for re-evaluation shall be considered only where expressly permitted under the applicable Olympiad policy or where a material procedural error is established.
CNAOEC shall collect, process, use, retain, and protect Personal Data in accordance with:
CNAOEC shall implement reasonable administrative, organisational, and technical safeguards designed to protect Personal Data against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, destruction, or misuse. Such safeguards may include encryption, access controls, authentication measures, audit logging, and other industry-standard security practices, as reasonably appropriate.
Access to participant information shall be restricted to authorised personnel, jury members, service providers, or consultants who require such access for legitimate operational purposes and who are subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations.
Identity verification documents shall be processed only for legitimate verification purposes. Where technologically feasible, uploaded documents may be processed through automated verification systems. Original uploaded identity files shall ordinarily not be retained after completion of verification except where temporary retention becomes necessary for fraud prevention, dispute resolution, audit requirements, statutory obligations, or other lawful purposes.
Personal information shall not be sold or rented to third-party marketing organisations. Information may, however, be shared with: authorised jury members; technology partners; payment service providers; cloud service providers; logistics providers; statutory authorities; or other service providers, strictly to the extent necessary for conducting the Olympiad or complying with Applicable Law.
The official registration schedule, examination dates, submission deadlines, result declaration dates, and other timelines shall be published through the official portal or other authorised communication channels.
Where reasonably necessary due to administrative, technical, operational, legal, security-related, or other unforeseen circumstances, CNAOEC may revise, extend, postpone, or reschedule any operational timeline. Reasonable efforts shall be made to notify affected Participants through the available communication channels. Such modifications shall not by themselves constitute a breach of contract.
Participants are responsible for ensuring that they have adequate internet connectivity, compatible devices, power supply, and necessary technical infrastructure while using the official portal. CNAOEC shall not be responsible for delays or failures caused primarily by the Participant's own equipment, internet connection, software, browser settings, or local technical environment. However, where a widespread system failure attributable to CNAOEC materially affects a significant number of Participants, CNAOEC may, at its discretion, implement appropriate remedial measures, including extension of deadlines or other reasonable operational solutions.
Certain services relating to the Olympiad may be provided through independent third-party service providers, including payment gateways, cloud hosting providers, communication platforms, and technology vendors. While CNAOEC exercises reasonable care in selecting such service providers, it cannot guarantee uninterrupted operation of third-party systems beyond its reasonable control.
The registration fee applicable to each category shall be the fee published on the official CNAOEC portal on the date of registration or such other fee as may be officially notified. All payments shall be made only through the officially authorised payment methods specified by CNAOEC.
Unless expressly authorised in writing by CNAOEC, no Olympiad Centre, Coordinator, Institution, employee, volunteer, or representative is authorised to collect registration fees directly from Participants. Any unauthorised collection shall be treated as a violation of these Terms.
Refunds shall be governed exclusively by the official Refund & Cancellation Policy published by CNAOEC. Except where expressly provided under that policy or where otherwise required under Applicable Law, registration fees shall ordinarily remain non-refundable and non-transferable after successful registration.
Any taxes, duties, levies, or statutory charges applicable under law shall be borne by the person legally liable for such payment unless otherwise specified by CNAOEC.
Without prejudice to any other available rights, CNAOEC may suspend, reject, cancel, or disqualify any registration or participation where it reasonably believes that:
Where reasonably practicable and except where immediate action is necessary to protect examination integrity, legal compliance, security, or public interest, CNAOEC may provide the affected Participant or Institution with an opportunity to provide clarification before taking final action.
Disqualification may result in cancellation of participation, withholding of evaluation, cancellation of awards, withdrawal of certificates, suspension from future Olympiad editions, or any other proportionate administrative action considered appropriate by CNAOEC.
Nothing contained in these Terms shall exclude or restrict any liability which cannot lawfully be excluded under Applicable Law. Subject thereto, CNAOEC's aggregate contractual liability arising out of a particular registration shall ordinarily not exceed the amount of the registration fee actually paid by the concerned Participant or Institution for that specific registration.
To the maximum extent permitted by Applicable Law, CNAOEC shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, speculative, exemplary, or special damages, including loss of business opportunity, goodwill, reputation, anticipated profits, or consequential financial loss.
CNAOEC shall not be responsible for losses arising solely from the independent acts or omissions of third-party service providers, including payment gateways, courier agencies, internet service providers, telecommunications providers, cloud hosting providers, or other independent vendors, except where liability arises due to CNAOEC's own negligence in selecting or supervising such providers, if required under Applicable Law.
Participants remain responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their login credentials, ensuring the accuracy of submitted information, maintaining suitable internet connectivity, and complying with all published instructions.
Neither Party shall be liable for any delay or failure in performing its obligations to the extent such delay or failure results from events beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, pandemics, governmental actions, civil disturbances, war, cyber-attacks of significant scale, power failures, internet outages, strikes, or similar unforeseen events. Where reasonably practicable, CNAOEC shall take appropriate steps to minimise disruption and notify affected users through official communication channels.
Any grievance relating to registration, evaluation, payments, privacy, certificates, or other operational matters should first be submitted through the official Grievance Redressal Mechanism. CNAOEC shall endeavour to examine and respond to the grievance within a reasonable period in accordance with its published grievance policy.
The Parties shall first attempt to resolve disputes through good faith discussions before initiating formal legal proceedings.
Where a dispute cannot be resolved through the internal grievance process, the Parties may refer the dispute to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, as amended. The seat and venue of arbitration shall ordinarily be Tripura, India, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties or directed by the arbitral tribunal. The arbitration proceedings shall be conducted by a sole arbitrator appointed in accordance with Applicable Law. The language of arbitration shall be English. Nothing contained herein shall prevent either Party from approaching a competent court for interim or urgent relief wherever permitted by law.
These Terms shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of India.
Subject to the arbitration provisions above, the courts having competent jurisdiction at Tripura, India, shall have exclusive jurisdiction over matters arising from these Terms, except where Applicable Law provides otherwise.
These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, applicable guidelines, official notifications, and other documents expressly incorporated by reference, constitute the entire agreement between the Parties relating to the National Arts Olympiad and supersede all prior oral or written communications on the same subject matter.
If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a competent court or authority, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect to the extent legally permissible.
Failure or delay by CNAOEC in enforcing any provision shall not constitute a waiver of any right or remedy.
CNAOEC may revise these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in law, operational requirements, technological developments, or organisational policies. Material amendments shall be published through the official website or other authorised communication channels. Continued participation after such publication shall constitute acceptance of the revised Terms, unless Applicable Law requires fresh consent.
Official notices may be communicated through the official website, registered email address, registered mobile number, in-app notifications, or any other officially designated communication channel. Participants and Institutions are responsible for ensuring that their contact information remains accurate and up to date.
In the event of any inconsistency between these Master Terms and any category-specific policy, the following order of precedence shall apply unless expressly stated otherwise:
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of any conflict, contradiction, or inconsistency between the terms contained within this document and any other agreement, policy, document, or communication, the provisions set forth in this Master Terms & Conditions document shall be considered the absolute final, binding, and prevailing authority.
The definitions contained in the General Definitions & Interpretation Clause issued by CNAOEC shall apply to these Terms unless the context otherwise requires.
Organizational Structure & Responsibility: The Contemporary Foundation for Art and Craft (CFAC) is the parent non-profit organization established to promote art, culture, and education. The CFAC National Arts Olympiad Executive Council (CNAOEC) is an independent executive body constituted by CFAC solely for the purpose of planning, administering, managing, and conducting the CFAC National Arts Olympiad.
Accordingly, all registrations, examinations, evaluations, operational decisions, communications, financial transactions, grievance handling, and other activities relating to the National Arts Olympiad are administered by or under the authority of CNAOEC, unless expressly stated otherwise in the applicable policy or document. References to "CFAC", "CNAOEC", or "we/us/our" in these Terms shall be interpreted in the context of their respective roles and responsibilities under the applicable document.
Grievance Officer Name:Adv Bhanu Pratap Sagar
Official Contact:grievance.cnaoec@cfac.in
Official Helpline:011 6926 9860
Registered Office:Quarter No. RZI- 9/211, Galli No. 8, WEST SAGARPUR, NEW DELHI-110046.
North East Zonal Office:Madhya Nayapara, Dharmanagar, North Tripura - 799250