The rules that govern registration, auditions, participation, selection and involvement in Code Kitchen Season 01.
Last Updated: 22 July 2026
These Participation Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern registration, auditions, participation, selection and involvement in Code Kitchen Season 01, a coding competition and reality series organised by AIM Media House Private Limited, including through its AIM Originals platform (“AIM”, “Organiser”, “we”, “us” or “our”).
Code Kitchen Season 01 is presented by Google Cloud and may involve other sponsors, partners, technology providers, judges, mentors, production partners, vendors and service providers.
By creating an account, registering for Code Kitchen, submitting a concept note, participating in an audition, accepting any cloud credits, submitting a project, attending an interview or participating in any other stage of Code Kitchen, you confirm that you have read, understood and accepted these Terms in their entirety.
Your acceptance of these Terms also constitutes your consent to:
If you do not agree to all the provisions contained in these Terms, including the provisions relating to communications and sharing of personal information with sponsors and partners, you must not register for or participate in Code Kitchen.
Code Kitchen is a nationwide coding competition and filmed reality series intended for developers, coders, software professionals, architects, engineers and technology builders.
The programme may include:
The Organiser may modify the format, number of rounds, timelines, challenge statements, judging process, participant structure, selection criteria, prize allocation, production schedule or any other aspect of Code Kitchen where reasonably required for operational, editorial, production, safety, legal, commercial or technical reasons.
To register for Code Kitchen, a participant must:
Code Kitchen is primarily intended for working developers and technology professionals. AIM may request evidence of identity, age, employment, residence, professional experience, educational qualifications or technical background.
Employees and directors of AIM, members of their immediate families, members of the judging panel, and personnel of vendors directly involved in evaluating Code Kitchen may be restricted from participating at AIM’s discretion.
AIM may reject, suspend or cancel a registration if a participant does not satisfy the eligibility requirements or fails to provide requested verification.
Participants may be required to register using Google sign-in or another authentication method specified by AIM.
Each participant may create only one account and submit only one registration unless AIM expressly permits otherwise.
Participants must not:
Participants are responsible for keeping their login credentials confidential and for all activity carried out through their accounts.
Registration does not guarantee shortlisting, receipt of cloud credits, participation in an audition, selection for the reality series or receipt of any prize.
The competition and audition process may include the following stages.
Participants may be required to submit a concept note explaining their proposed idea, solution, implementation approach, technology stack, intended use case and other information requested by AIM.
AIM may evaluate registration information, concept notes, professional profiles and other submitted materials to determine which participants advance to the audition stage.
Shortlisted participants may receive Google Cloud credits, sandbox access, platform access or other technical resources for building their projects.
Any cloud credits or technical resources:
Participants are responsible for monitoring their cloud usage and securely configuring and shutting down their resources. AIM will not be responsible for any charges incurred beyond the value of the allocated credits.
Participants may be required to submit some or all of the following:
Participants may be evaluated through technical assessments, interviews, live demonstrations, identity verification, professional background verification, recorded interviews, camera tests or media screenings.
Final selection may be based on technical performance, originality, communication ability, professional experience, teamwork, camera suitability, availability, verification results, conduct and overall suitability for the programme.
All shortlisting, selection, elimination and winner decisions made by AIM and the appointed judges will be final and binding.
Every submission must:
AIM may require access to repositories, commit histories, development logs, prompts, technical records, cloud usage information or other evidence necessary to verify authorship, originality and compliance.
AIM may reject or disqualify a submission that is incomplete, inaccessible, non-functional, unsafe, unlawful, plagiarised or otherwise non-compliant.
Participants may use artificial intelligence tools, coding assistants, open-source software, APIs, datasets and other third-party development tools unless their use is restricted for a particular challenge.
Where such tools are used, participants must:
AIM may impose additional requirements or restrictions relating to tools, models, datasets, platforms or coding assistance for any competition round.
Participants retain ownership of intellectual property created by them before entering Code Kitchen and independently of the competition (“Background IP”).
Participants must identify any material Background IP included in their submissions when requested.
Subject to these Terms, participants retain ownership of the original intellectual property created by them as part of their competition submissions.
By submitting any project, concept note, code, document, presentation, recording or other material, the participant grants AIM, its affiliates, sponsors, presenting partners, production partners and authorised service providers a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable and sublicensable licence to:
This licence will continue for as long as reasonably required to operate, archive, distribute and promote Code Kitchen and related content.
Participation does not require AIM, Google Cloud, any sponsor, partner, judge or other party to invest in, purchase, license, develop or commercialise a participant’s submission.
Any commercial arrangement relating to a submission must be governed by a separate written agreement.
Participants must obtain all permissions required for third-party code, datasets, designs, music, video, photographs, trademarks, personal data or other protected material included in a submission.
AIM may remove or disqualify a submission where ownership, authorisation or licensing cannot be reasonably verified.
Participants acknowledge that AIM, its sponsors, partners, judges or other participants may already be developing, or may later develop, products, services or concepts similar to a participant’s submission.
Similarity alone will not establish copying, misuse, infringement or an obligation to compensate the participant.
Participants must not disclose confidential or non-public information received during Code Kitchen, including:
Selected participants may be required to sign a separate confidentiality agreement, contributor agreement, appearance release, production agreement or intellectual-property declaration.
Participants must not publish spoilers, results, challenge information, backstage photographs, recordings or unreleased programme details without prior written approval from AIM.
These confidentiality obligations will continue after completion, elimination, withdrawal or disqualification.
Submissions and participant performances may be evaluated on criteria including:
AIM may appoint judges, mentors, industry experts and technical reviewers.
Judging may involve subjective professional and editorial assessment. AIM is not required to disclose individual scores, evaluation notes, confidential deliberations or reasons for selection or elimination.
In case of a tie, ambiguity, technical issue or dispute, AIM may conduct an additional assessment, interview, review or tie-breaker.
All decisions concerning shortlisting, judging, selection, elimination and prizes will be final.
Participants shortlisted for recorded or filmed stages may be photographed, filmed, livestreamed, interviewed and audio-recorded.
By participating in any recorded activity, the participant authorises AIM, its affiliates, production partners, sponsors and authorised representatives to use the participant’s:
Such material may be recorded, edited, reproduced, adapted, translated, dubbed, subtitled, published, promoted, broadcast, streamed and distributed worldwide through any media now existing or developed in the future.
The material may be used in connection with Code Kitchen, AIM Originals, AIM Media House, programme sponsors, programme partners and related editorial or promotional activities.
Participants acknowledge that recorded content may be edited for duration, clarity, storytelling, entertainment, editorial, promotional or production purposes.
To the extent permitted by law, participants waive the right to inspect or approve final content. No royalty, appearance fee or other payment will be due unless expressly provided under a separate written agreement.
Selected participants may be required to execute a detailed appearance release or production agreement before filming.
Participants must behave professionally, lawfully and respectfully.
The following conduct may result in suspension, removal or disqualification:
AIM may remove a participant immediately where continued participation creates a safety, legal, technical, reputational, commercial or operational risk.
Participants are responsible for ensuring that their participation does not violate any:
Participants must not use employer-owned or client-owned code, equipment, accounts, datasets, confidential information, trade secrets or paid working time without proper authorisation.
Where required, participants must obtain permission from their employer, client or institution before participating or appearing in recorded content.
AIM will not be responsible for employment, contractual, disciplinary or professional consequences arising from a participant’s involvement in Code Kitchen.
The total prize pool for Code Kitchen Season 01 is stated as up to ₹10,00,000, subject to the final competition structure and official prize announcements.
AIM may determine:
All prizes are subject to verification of identity, eligibility and compliance with these Terms.
Cash prizes may be subject to tax deduction at source and other statutory deductions. Winners will be responsible for their own tax obligations.
Where a prize is awarded to a team, AIM may divide the amount equally between eligible members unless otherwise announced.
A participant may forfeit a prize if the participant:
Prizes may not be sold, assigned or transferred without AIM’s written approval.
Participants must comply with all reasonable safety, security, venue, technical and production instructions issued by AIM.
Participants must disclose any accessibility requirement that may reasonably affect their safe participation in a recorded or studio activity.
Participants are responsible for determining whether they are able to participate in coding sessions, interviews, filming, studio activities and other programme requirements.
AIM may suspend or discontinue a participant’s involvement where reasonably necessary to protect the health, safety or welfare of the participant or others.
AIM will make reasonable efforts to operate the registration, audition, communication and submission systems.
AIM does not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free availability of:
Participants are responsible for retaining backup copies of their work and submitting sufficiently before the applicable deadline.
AIM may extend a deadline, request a resubmission, repeat a round, use backup material or implement another reasonable remedy where a significant technical failure affects the competition.
AIM will not be responsible for device failure, poor connectivity, accidental deletion, corrupted files, incorrect permissions, cloud misconfiguration or late submissions caused by a participant.
AIM may modify, postpone, suspend, extend, shorten or cancel Code Kitchen or any stage of it where necessary due to:
Material changes may be communicated through the Code Kitchen website, participant account, registered email address, telephone, WhatsApp or another appropriate communication channel.
AIM will not be responsible for indirect losses, lost opportunities, loss of working time or expenses voluntarily incurred by a participant because of a modification, postponement, suspension or cancellation.
AIM may collect and process information including:
AIM may collect, process, store and use participant information to:
By accepting these Terms, participants expressly consent to AIM sharing their personal and professional information with:
Information shared may include:
Sponsors and partners may use this information to:
By accepting these Terms, participants acknowledge and agree that their information may be shared with Code Kitchen sponsors and partners for these purposes.
By accepting these Terms and registering for Code Kitchen, participants agree to receive:
These communications may be sent by AIM, its affiliated brands, Code Kitchen sponsors or Code Kitchen partners through:
Participants acknowledge that consent to such communication and data sharing forms part of the Terms governing registration and participation in Code Kitchen.
Once personal information has been shared with a sponsor or partner, that sponsor or partner may process the information in accordance with its own privacy policy and applicable data-protection requirements.
AIM may require sponsors and partners receiving participant information to use it for authorised purposes and maintain appropriate confidentiality and security safeguards.
However, AIM will not be responsible for independent communications or processing conducted by a sponsor or partner outside AIM’s reasonable control, except to the extent required by applicable law.
Some sponsors, partners, cloud platforms, communication providers and service providers may process or store information outside India.
By accepting these Terms, participants acknowledge that their information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside their location, subject to applicable legal and contractual requirements.
AIM may retain participant information for as long as reasonably necessary to:
Recorded episodes, photographs, interviews, published videos, project demonstrations, articles and promotional content may be retained indefinitely as part of AIM’s editorial, historical, promotional and production archives.
Registration for Code Kitchen will require acceptance of a single mandatory checkbox.
The acceptance wording may be displayed as follows:
[ ] I confirm that I am at least 18 years old and have read, understood and agree to the Code Kitchen Participation Terms and Conditions. By registering, I consent to AIM Media House collecting, processing, storing and using my personal and professional information for administering, evaluating, producing and promoting Code Kitchen. I also consent to AIM Media House sharing my name, email address, telephone number, professional profile, employment information, skills, project information and other registration details with Google Cloud, Code Kitchen sponsors, partners, affiliates, judges, mentors, production partners, technology providers and authorised service providers. I agree to receive programme updates, newsletters, event invitations, product and service information, promotional communications and professional opportunities from AIM Media House, its affiliated brands, Code Kitchen sponsors and Code Kitchen partners through email, telephone, SMS, WhatsApp and other communication channels. I understand that acceptance of these provisions is part of my registration and participation in Code Kitchen.
The checkbox must not be pre-selected. A participant must affirmatively select it before completing registration.
No separate optional sponsor, partner, newsletter or promotional communication checkbox will apply. Acceptance of the above checkbox constitutes acceptance of all provisions concerning programme communications, promotional communications and sharing of information with sponsors and partners.
AIM may implement reasonable organisational, administrative and technical safeguards to protect participant information.
No online system can guarantee absolute security. Participants must:
Participants will be responsible for security incidents resulting from their failure to protect their credentials, code, repositories or cloud environments.
Code Kitchen may use or integrate services provided by Google, Google Cloud, YouTube, authentication providers, cloud platforms, repository providers, messaging platforms and other third parties.
Use of such services may be governed by the applicable provider’s separate terms, licences and privacy policies.
AIM does not control the availability, independent data practices or policy decisions of third-party providers, except to the extent required under applicable law or contractual arrangements.
The involvement of a sponsor or partner does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement of a participant’s submission, product, employment prospects or commercial success.
AIM may reject, suspend, remove or disqualify a participant at any stage for:
Disqualification may result in cancellation of selection, removal from the programme, forfeiture of prizes and recovery of benefits improperly obtained.
AIM may select a replacement participant where necessary.
To the extent permitted by law, each participant agrees to indemnify AIM, its affiliates, directors, employees, sponsors, partners, judges, mentors, production partners and service providers against claims, losses, damages, liabilities and reasonable expenses arising from:
This provision will not apply to the extent that a claim results directly from the gross negligence or wilful misconduct of the party seeking indemnification.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, AIM and its affiliates, sponsors, partners, judges, mentors, production partners and service providers will not be liable for:
Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
Participation in Code Kitchen does not create an employment, partnership, agency, joint venture, fiduciary or representative relationship between a participant and AIM, Google Cloud, a sponsor, partner, judge, mentor or production provider.
Participants are not authorised to make commitments, statements or representations on behalf of AIM or any Code Kitchen sponsor or partner.
These Terms will be governed by the laws of India.
Subject to any mandatory rights available under applicable law, courts located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, will have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising from Code Kitchen or these Terms.
Before initiating formal proceedings, the parties should attempt in good faith to resolve the matter through written discussions.
AIM may update these Terms to reflect changes in Code Kitchen, applicable law, technology, sponsor arrangements, partner arrangements or operational requirements.
The updated Terms may be published on the Code Kitchen website with a revised “Last Updated” date.
Continued participation after notification of an update will constitute acceptance of the updated Terms.
If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force.
Failure by AIM to enforce a provision will not constitute a waiver of that provision or of AIM’s right to enforce it later.
Participants may not assign or transfer their rights or obligations under these Terms.
AIM may assign or transfer its rights and obligations to an affiliate, successor, production entity or purchaser of the programme, subject to applicable law.
These Terms, together with applicable challenge rules, appearance releases, production agreements and other agreements signed by a participant, constitute the agreement governing participation in Code Kitchen.
Where a separately signed production, appearance or contributor agreement conflicts with these Terms, the separately signed agreement will apply to the extent of the conflict.
These Terms are issued in English. Any translation may be provided for convenience. In case of inconsistency, the English-language version will prevail, subject to applicable law.