Plain-language summary
Registration requires acceptance of the competition terms. Consent to share information or submit an entry to selected network award organisers is separate and optional. Choosing No, or leaving that question unanswered, will not affect Sera Pujo 2026 registration, shortlisting, judging or eligibility.
1. Organisers and scope
Sera Pujo 2026 is presented by Indian Festival and Durga Online (together, “the Organisers”). This policy applies to Pujo committees, authorised committee representatives, selectors, photographers, jury members, volunteers and other participants who register, submit content or take part in the programme.
The programme operates through the Sera Pujo website, associated Indian Festival or Durga Online channels, approved messaging channels and operational systems used by the Organisers.
2. Important dates and enquiries
- Registration closes
- 9 October 2026, 11:59 PM
- Photo/video material due
- 10 October 2026, 11:59 PM
- Expected first shortlist
- 11 October 2026
- Final-round activity begins
- 13 October 2026
WhatsApp enquiries and media submission: +91 9038075325 · +91 9804158280 · +91 9836038846 · +91 80134 38918 · +61 414 424 992
3. Eligibility and authority to register
- Any Durga Pujo committee presenting a theme pandal may register, subject to chapter availability and location-specific rules.
- The person submitting must be authorised by the relevant committee.
- Bulk registration may be accepted where expressly enabled by the Organisers.
- A committee may be asked to verify its identity, authority, address, chapter or contact details.
4. Chapters, zones and geographic coverage
Sera Pujo 2026 is a multi-chapter event. Chapters include Kolkata / Greater Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly / Chinsurah, North Bengal, Indian Cities beyond West Bengal and International, together with later chapters formally announced by the Organisers. Kolkata registrations may also be assigned to a designated zone.
The Organisers may correct a chapter or zone assignment where it does not match the registered address or published operating boundary. Format, award count, judging logistics and shortlist size may vary by chapter because of geography and entry volume.
5. Registration and promotional requirements
A valid registration must contain the required committee, theme, location, contact and acceptance information shown on the form. Optional materials may include teasers, brochures, permissions, instructions, photographs or videos. Up to ten files may be uploaded, with a maximum size of 10 MB per file.
Where applicable to a chapter, official digital or printed Sera Pujo promotional material must be displayed visibly at the pandal. Required social posts must be published through the committee’s official social channels before judging begins. Evidence may be requested.
A submission receipt confirms intake only; it does not confirm eligibility, verification, shortlisting or an award.
6. Photographs, videos and supporting material
The submitting committee represents that it has the authority to provide submitted material and that it does not knowingly infringe copyright, privacy, publicity or other third-party rights.
Copyright remains with the relevant rights holder. The committee grants the Organisers a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store, review, reproduce, resize, edit for length or format, display and publish submitted materials for Sera Pujo administration, judging, shortlisting, results, promotion, exhibitions, approved archives and programme reporting. Network-award use requires the separate optional consent described below.
The Organisers will provide reasonable attribution where practicable, although platform, format or operational limitations may prevent attribution in every use.
7. Selection, judging and results
- First-level shortlisting may consider submitted footage, eligibility, registration completeness and promotional verification.
- A selector or photographer team may visit a shortlisted pandal more than once and verify registration or display information.
- Jury members assess entries using the criteria and category structure adopted for the relevant chapter or award.
- Results may be published through official Indian Festival, Durga Online and Sera Pujo channels.
- The jury’s decision is final for artistic and competition assessment. This does not remove the right to raise an administrative, privacy, safety or data-correction concern.
Special consideration may be given to themes demonstrating social or environmental awareness where this forms part of the published judging criteria.
8. Fair participation and disqualification
The Organisers may reject, suspend or remove an entry involving material misrepresentation, impersonation, rights infringement, harmful or unlawful content, interference with judging, serious misconduct, duplicate manipulation or failure to meet a clearly stated eligibility requirement. Wherever reasonably practicable, the committee will be contacted for clarification before a final administrative decision.
9. Information collected and purposes
The Organisers may collect committee identity, address, chapter, zone, directions, theme information, submitted media, contact numbers, email address, membership response, registration status, timestamps, review and audit records, technical security information and the optional network-award consent choice.
Information is used to receive and validate registrations, communicate with representatives, allocate chapters and judges, conduct shortlisting and awards, maintain approved historical records, protect the platform, investigate misuse, meet legal requirements and—only with separate consent—administer selected external award submissions.
10. Optional network-award consent
Where Yes is selected, Indian Festival may share relevant registration information and supporting entry material, or submit the Pujo’s entry, to selected partner or network award organisers for 2026 award consideration. Personal contact information will be shared only where reasonably necessary to administer that entry.
The consent is limited to this specified purpose and does not authorise unrelated marketing, unrestricted onward sharing or undefined future uses. It may be withdrawn for future sharing by contacting the Sera Pujo team. Withdrawal cannot reverse a disclosure or submission already completed, but reasonable steps will be taken to stop future sharing.
11. Disclosure, service providers and overseas handling
Authorised administrators, selectors, jury members, photographers, operational volunteers and technology providers may access information only to the extent required for their assigned work. Service providers may include website hosting, databases, private file storage, email, messaging, analytics and technical support. The Organisers do not sell registration contact data.
Because Sera Pujo operates in India and internationally, approved providers or award organisers may process information in another country. Before disclosure, the Organisers will consider necessity, destination, security, recipient handling and applicable privacy obligations, and will share only the information reasonably required.
12. Security, retention and deletion
Reasonable administrative and technical safeguards are used, including controlled access, private storage for intake files where appropriate and operational audit records. No online system can be guaranteed completely secure.
Operational contact information and private supporting files will ordinarily be retained for up to 24 months after the 2026 results unless required longer for an active dispute or legal obligation. Judging and audit records may be retained for up to seven years. Selected approved public materials and results may remain in the Indian Festival historical archive. Unnecessary personal information will then be deleted or de-identified.
13. Access, correction, withdrawal and complaints
A committee representative may request access to or correction of personal information, withdraw optional consent for future award sharing, report unauthorised use or make a privacy complaint. Reasonable identity and authority verification may be required.
Contact: ifest.pujoonline@gmail.com or the WhatsApp enquiry numbers listed above. We aim to acknowledge a request within seven days and provide a substantive response within 30 days where practicable.
14. Children and young people
The registration must be submitted by an adult authorised committee representative. If submitted media prominently identifies a child or young person, the committee must ensure it has appropriate permission from a parent, guardian or authorised person before submission and publication. The Organisers may request evidence or remove material where permission or safety is uncertain.
15. Changes, governing rules and severability
Material policy changes will be dated and published clearly. A materially expanded use of personal information will not be applied retrospectively using an earlier, narrower consent. Fresh consent will be obtained where required.
These terms operate with applicable laws and chapter-specific rules. If a provision is invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to the extent permitted by law. Nothing excludes rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.