Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education (IDIA) is a non-profit organization working in India that aims to empower underprivileged and marginalised children by giving them access to quality legal education.
IDIA sensitises students from across the country to Law as a career option, selects underprivileged and marginalised students with an aptitude for law, trains them, and provides scholarships to the students on gaining admission to law schools. IDIA not only enables access to legal education, but also fosters diversity at the leading law schools, thereby enriching the very process of legal education.
To know more about the organization, visit www.idialaw.org.
About the Event
In 2018, we, at the Chhattisgarh Chapter of IDIA, (based out of Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur) set out to take the aim of IDIA one step further and reach out to students all over India for their perspectives on legal issues. We wanted not only to encourage active dialogue but also for their voices to be heard.
After the resounding success of the previous three editions of the IDIA Chhattisgarh National Essay Writing Competition, which saw the participation of students from universities and institutions from across India, the IDIA Chhattisgarh Chapter is pleased to organize the 4th edition of the IDIA Chhattisgarh National Essay Writing Competition.
This year, we have extended the Competition to include school students from classes 9th -12th in order to increase awareness of law amongst school students and expose them to the various opportunities available in this dynamic field.
The Competition is being organized under the following two categories with their respective themes, as given below:
1. Participant Category I (School Category): Students of Classes 9th–12th: “United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030): Strengthening Global Solidarity and Facilitating Discussion Between Various Stakeholders”;
2. Participant Category II (College Category): Students Pursuing Graduation/Post-Graduation:
a. Cryptocurrency, NFTs and Digital Assets Regulation;
b. Changing Data Privacy Landscape in India;
c. Reforms in the Medical Sector;
d. Dimensions of Digital Education and the Future;
e. Cross-border Insolvency Framework in India
NOTE: Participants are free to write on, and choose, any suitable topic for their essay as long as it is within the ambit of the aforementioned themes.
Eligibility
The Competition is open to school students (from classes 9th–12th), and undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in any recognised school/college/university in India.
Registration Procedure
Students interested to participate in the Competition are required to click here to register. The minimum contribution for registration is ₹150 for a single author and ₹200 in the case of co-authorship.
Submission Guidelines
The essay must be written in either Hindi or English and submitted in Microsoft Word document format (.doc/.docx).
Co-authorship up to a maximum of two authors is permitted.
Only one submission is allowed per author/team. Submissions, both as co-author and single, will be treated as multiple submissions and will be disqualified as an entry to the Competition.
The following formatting specifications need to be strictly adhered to: Main Body: Font – Times New Roman, Font Size – 12, and Line Spacing – 1.5; Footnotes: Font – Times New Roman, Font Size – 10, and Line Spacing – 1.0; Margins should be 1 inch or 2.54 cm on all sides.
The word limit is 2500-3000 words excluding footnotes. Footnotes must follow the Bluebook system of citation (Harvard, 20th edition), however, the same is relaxed for participants under Category I.
The essay must contain an abstract, not exceeding 250 words (which would not be counted in the word limit for the essay). It must indicate the theme/topic.
All submissions should be made in an electronic form at hnluteam@idialaw.org under the subject heading “Submission: 4th IDIA Chhattisgarh National Essay Writing Competition” by 10 March 2022, 23:59 hours (Indian Standard Time, GMT +5:30).
The essay must be accompanied by a separate document containing the following information about the participant: (i) full name of the participant; (ii) theme/topic chosen; (iii) participant’s current year of study and name of the degree pursued (applicable only to students under Category II; mention current class, if belonging to Category I); (iv) name and full address of the participant’s school/university; (v) name and full postal address of the participant; (vi) phone number of the participant; and (vii) email ID of the participant.
The essay must be original and bonafide work of the participant. Incomplete or plagiarised submissions shall be summarily rejected. The plagiarism limit is 15% (excluding footnotes).
Avoid extensive footnotes or extensive quotations. Reference or paraphrasing of thoughts and ideas from standard works are acceptable without quotations, provided they are duly acknowledged in footnotes or otherwise as may be suitable.
No part of the essay should contain any form of identification of the participant such as the name of the author, School/University/College name, etc. on the essay. Any form of identification will lead to disqualification.
Prizes
In Category I, the Winner and Runner-up will receive cash prizes as follows:
Winner: ₹5,000
Runner-up: ₹3,000
In Category II, the Winner and Runner-up will receive cash prizes as follows, including an internship opportunity at Khaitan & Co to be provided to the Winner:
Winner: ₹8,000
Runner-up: ₹5,000
The top five essays will be awarded a Certificate of Merit. A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to all the participants.
Important Dates
Registration Opens: 10 February 2022
Registration Closes: 10 March 2022 [Extended]
Submission Deadline: 10 March 2022
Results Declaration: 21 March 2022
Contact Information
For inquiries, please email us at hnluteam@idialaw.org or contact
Viraj Aditya (Team Leader) at +91 8447488295
Deeksha Singh (Deputy Team Leader, Fundraising) at +91 9754456437.
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