Essay Writing Competition 2026 - Kautilya Society NLUO

2nd Kautilya Society NLUO Essay Writing Competition 2026 Organised by: Kautilya Society, National Law University Odisha (NLUO) Theme: Open Theme — La

ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION 2026

2nd Kautilya Society NLUO Essay Writing Competition 2026

Organised by: Kautilya Society, National Law University Odisha (NLUO)

Theme: Open Theme — Law, Public Policy, Governance & Contemporary Issues

Registration Deadline: 13 September 2026

Submission Deadline: 28 September 2026

Prize Pool: ₹12,500 + Internship Opportunity at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy

About National Law University Odisha

National Law University Odisha, Cuttack was established by Act 4 of 2008 by the Odisha State Legislature. The university focuses on advancement of learning, teaching, research and diffusion of knowledge in the field of law, while developing professional skills for careers including advocacy, judicial services and legal services.

About Kautilya Society, NLUO

Kautilya Societies are student initiatives established in universities across India by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. The initiative aims to widen access to legislative drafting and analysis and encourage young minds to explore public policy as a career path.

The Kautilya Society, NLUO Chapter has been established at National Law University Odisha in association with Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. It seeks to provide students with opportunities to explore public policy and related fields such as development, advocacy, consultancy, campaigning, financial analysis, economics and research.

Event Details

Competition Theme: Open Theme

Introduction

The Kautilya Society is pleased to announce the 2nd Kautilya Society NLUO Essay Writing Competition 2026, inviting students, academicians and legal professionals to showcase their analytical and writing abilities.

Participants are free to choose a topic of their interest from any area of law, public policy, governance or any other subject of contemporary relevance, provided that a clear public policy angle is explored in the essay.

The competition aims to encourage intellectual curiosity, original thought and informed discourse by giving participants a platform to examine issues they are passionate about.

Essays will be evaluated on factors including originality, depth of analysis, coherence, research quality and clarity of expression.

Important: Although the essay must revolve around Indian public policy, participants may write about international events provided that a strong connection with Indian public policy is established.

Suggestive Themes

This is an open-theme competition. Participants may select any area of law as their subject, provided that a strong nexus with public policy is established.

For example, a participant may write on competition law, but the essay should focus on the related public policy dimensions, such as the public policy implications of hub-and-spoke arrangements in cab-hailing services.

International policy-oriented events may also be discussed, but Indian public policy must remain at the centre of the submission.

Eligibility

• Students pursuing a Five-Year or Three-Year LLB programme.
• Students pursuing a One-Year or Two-Year LLM programme.
• Students who are not pursuing law but are interested in the subject area are also eligible to participate.

Submission Guidelines

• Submissions must be made in .doc or .docx format.
• The accepted Word formats include Word 2007, 2010 or 2013.
• Submissions must be made through the designated Google Form.
• The submission title should be used as the filename.
• The filename or manuscript must not reveal the identity of the author(s).
• The manuscript should contain 1500–2000 words, excluding endnotes.
• Hyperlinking is the preferred method of referencing. Where hyperlinking is not possible, endnotes may be used.
• Font: Times New Roman.
• Font size: 12.
• Line spacing: 1.5.
• All text should be justified.
• Every manuscript must contain an Abstract of 50–100 words, which will not be counted within the total word limit.
• The essay should be free from grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.

Plagiarism & AI Policy: The competition follows a strict plagiarism and AI policy. The similarity index must be below 10% and the submission must have 0% AI. Articles with false positives will be duly read to determine whether the work is original or AI-generated.

Participants are also recommended to visit the Vidhi website to better understand the type of submissions that the Editorial Board looks forward to receiving.

Important Note

Manuscripts that do not conform to the prescribed guidelines may be rejected at the sole discretion of the Editorial Board.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to send manuscripts back to authors for modifications at any stage in case of non-conformity with the submission guidelines.

The Editorial Board may, at its absolute discretion, waive any of the rules or amend the process. In case of any dispute or ambiguity, the decision of the Editorial Board shall be final and binding.

Important Dates

Particulars	Date
Last Date for Registration	13 September 2026
Last Date for Submission	28 September 2026

Registration Fees

Category	Single Authorship	Co-Authorship
NLUO Students	₹200	₹300
Non-NLUO Students	₹300	₹500

Registration Process

Participants are required to pay the registration fee through the designated payment portal.

1. Visit the ICICI Bank Eazypay portal.
2. Enter Institution Name as National Law University and click on Go.
3. Enter your Email ID.
4. Enter your Mobile Number.
5. Enter the applicable Amount.
6. Enter your Student Name.
7. Enter your Roll/Enrolment Number. NLUO students should enter their Roll/Enrolment Number, while others should enter 131.
8. Enter your Semester Number. NLUO students should enter their semester number, while others should enter 11.
9. Enter the Year.
10. Enter the Payment Date.
11. Under Purpose, mention KS Essay Writing Competition.
12. Submit the details after entering the captcha and OTP.
13. Save the auto-generated payment receipt received after payment.

Pay Registration Fee

Submission Process

Registration Deadline: 13 September 2026

After registration, participants will be allotted team codes along with the submission link.

Click Here to Submit

Ensure that the manuscript follows all prescribed formatting, word limit, anonymity, plagiarism and AI-policy requirements before submission.

Prizes & Recognition

Total Prize Pool: ₹12,500

Position	Prize
Winner	₹6,000
Runner-up	₹4,000
Second Runner-up	₹2,500

Additional Opportunity: Winners will receive an internship opportunity at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. The top submissions may also be published on the Vidhi Blog, subject to approval by the External Panel.

Why Participate?

• Showcase your legal and analytical writing skills.
• Explore contemporary law and public policy issues.
• Build a strong academic writing portfolio.
• Gain recognition through a national-level essay competition.
• Compete for a total prize pool of ₹12,500.
• Winners get an internship opportunity at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
• Top submissions may receive an opportunity for publication on the Vidhi Blog, subject to approval.

Contact Information

Email: ksociety@nluo.ac.in

Convenor: Aryan Chowdhury — +91 8318262740

Co-Convenor: Nidhi Rai — +91 9560392741

Editor-in-Chief: Adrija Dey — +91 9109910526

Ready to Participate?

Complete your registration before 13 September 2026 and prepare your 1500–2000 word essay for submission by 28 September 2026.

Pay Registration Fee Submit Essay View Brochure

Disclaimer: Participants should carefully verify the official competition guidelines and requirements before completing registration or submission.