Direct Impact on Global Governance
Audit and refine the Ethical Organisation Model (EOM) — an operating framework designed to benchmark integrity, leadership values, and ethical performance across complex global enterprises.
XLRI Jamshedpur · National Competition 2026
All India Business Ethics
Case & Debate Competition
“Design the Ethical Organisation for the Future”
Can your team create the future of ethical business organisation models?
The XLRI JRD Tata Foundation for Business Ethics invites India’s brightest management thinkers, researchers, and industry leaders to a national championship designed to shape the next generation of corporate governance.
- Tracks
- 02
- Team Size
- 03
- Categories
- 02
- Grand Finale
- 28 Nov
Fully blind evaluation
Judged only by an anonymised Team Hash ID.
Two participant categories
Academic scholars and industry professionals.
Ethics Masterclass access
Released to every confirmed team on payment.
On-campus Grand Finale
Live boardroom defence at XLRI Jamshedpur, 28 Nov 2026.
The Mandate
From compliance to genuine corporate responsibility.
Modern enterprises are navigating unprecedented changes in technology, society, and governance. The rise of generative AI, along with mandates for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, sustainability pressures, and challenges related to data privacy, necessitates a shift from mere compliance to genuine corporate responsibility.
Grounded in the rich Indian principles of Dharma, truth, universal ethical theories, social stewardship, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we face a fundamental question:
How can we objectively measure, audit, and foster an authentic ethical organisational culture?
Every submission is evaluated blind. Juries at Stages 1–3 see only your Team Hash ID and your materials — never your name, your institution, or your payment record.
Why Compete?
Four reasons to compete.
A national championship for business school scholars and corporate professionals, judged by people who run the function you are designing for.
Bridging Academia & Industry
Compete in dedicated tracks for business school scholars and corporate professionals before a distinguished panel of C-suite executives, ethics officers, and leading scholars.
Dual-Discipline Challenge
Test your strategic acumen across real-world consulting case analysis and spontaneous parliamentary debate rounds.
National Recognition & Grand Finale at XLRI
Present your boardroom defence live on the XLRI Jamshedpur campus on 28 November 2026.
Choose Your Arena
Two competition tracks
Each team registers for exactly one track. Your choice determines your Stage 1 submission format and the resource pack released to you on confirmation.
Track A
Ethical Organisation Audit & the Ethical Organisation Model
Real-world consulting case analysis. Teams conduct a structured ethical audit of an organisation and refine the Ethical Organisation Model (EOM) — an operating framework designed to benchmark integrity, leadership values, and ethical performance across complex global enterprises.
- Structured organisational ethics audit
- Benchmarking integrity and leadership values
- Measurement and evaluation architecture
Resource on confirmation: EOM Case Dossier
Track B
National Ethics Debate: Ethical Leadership
Spontaneous parliamentary debate rounds. Teams argue motions on ethical leadership — the accountability of leaders for the governance frameworks that monitor and evaluate ethical performance inside complex organisational ecosystems.
- Spontaneous parliamentary debate format
- Ethical leadership and accountability
- Live jury interaction at the Grand Finale
Resource on confirmation: Debate Motion Rules Pack
Who Can Enter
Categories, team size & fees
Both categories may enter either track. Your category sets your fee, your identity-proof requirements, and whether a faculty mentor may be added.
Academic
₹5,000per team
MBA · PGDM · Ph.D · FPM · Doctoral scholars
- Team size
- 3 members
- Faculty mentor
- Optional — 1 maximum
- Identity proof
- Student ID card + Aadhaar
- Email required
- Institutional address
- Team Hash ID
- ETH-ACAD-XXX
Industry
₹8,000per team
Corporate professionals in active employment
- Team size
- 3 working professionals
- Faculty mentor
- Not applicable
- Identity proof
- Employee ID + Aadhaar
- Email required
- Official work address
- Team Hash ID
- ETH-CORP-XXX
Fees are inclusive of applicable tax. A GST-compliant invoice is generated automatically and emailed to the primary contact on successful payment.
Registration fees are non-refundable and non-transferable under any circumstances. TDS at 31.2% applies on prizes under Sec. 194B.
How It Works
Registration in seven steps
One linear funnel. Your track and category selection at the top governs every field, fee and document requirement that follows.
- 01
Landing & Overview
Read the mandate, eligibility, prize pool and key dates.
- 02
Track & Category
Pick Track A or B, and Academic or Industry. This drives all branching.
- 03
Team Profile
Team pseudonym, institution, city and primary contact details.
- 04
Member Profiles
Three members, ID proof uploads, and an optional faculty mentor.
- 05
Declarations
Seven mandatory consents. All must be accepted to proceed.
- 06
Review & Payment
Confirm every detail, then pay by UPI, net banking or card.
- 07
Hash ID Release
Your anonymised Team Hash ID, receipt and resource packs are issued.
- Start Registration
Calendar
Key dates
The portal closes hard at the registration deadline. In-progress sessions receive 30-minute and 5-minute warnings; no entry is accepted after the timestamp.
Registration closes in
20 September 2026, 11:59 PM IST
Completed
Portal goes live
15 August 2026 — registrations open to all India.
Closing soon
Registration closes
20 September 2026, 11:59 PM IST — hard portal closure.
Stage 1
Written submission
Case dossier or debate position paper, submitted under your Hash ID. Dates to be announced.
Stages 2 & 3
Blind evaluation rounds
Shortlisting by a distinguished panel of C-suite executives, ethics officers and leading scholars. Dates to be announced.
Grand Finale · 28 November 2026
Live boardroom defence at XLRI Jamshedpur
Present your boardroom defence live on the XLRI Jamshedpur campus on 28 November 2026. Teams arrive on the evening of 27 November and depart by the morning of 29 November. In-person attendance by all members is mandatory.
Recognition
Prize pool
Every track carries its own pool. The same three prizes are awarded in the Case Competition and again in the Debate Competition.
Winner
₹1,00,000
1st Prize · per track
First Runner-up
₹75,000
2nd Prize · per track
Second Runner-up
₹65,000
3rd Prize · per track
TDS at 31.2% is deductible on all prize disbursements under Sec. 194B of the Income Tax Act.
Before You Register
The seven declarations
Every team must accept all seven declarations before the portal will advance to payment. Read them now — several carry consequences that cannot be reversed after you pay.
D1Generative AI & Original Work Warranty
The team certifies that all ethical arguments and recommendations are original and represent their personal contribution. Any generative AI tools used for background research, formatting, or language editing will be fully disclosed in the submission declaration. Core ethical reasoning and critical thinking must be entirely original.
D2Grand Finale Attendance Consent
The team confirms that if the team qualifies for the Final Round / National Grand Finale, all members must attend in person at XLRI Jamshedpur on the scheduled date (arrival in the evening of 27 November and departure by the morning of 29 November 2026). Physical attendance is mandatory for final evaluation and award eligibility. Failure to attend may result in disqualification.
D3Publishing License
Team grants XLRI a non-exclusive license to reproduce submissions and presentations for educational and promotional publications and for future training by the XLRI Ethics Area.
D4Non-Refundable Registration Fee Declaration
Team acknowledges that the registration fee is final, non-refundable, and non-transferable under any circumstances, including withdrawal, non-submission, disqualification, or inability to participate. Sole responsibility rests with the registering team to verify eligibility and member availability prior to payment.
D5English Language & Evaluation Proceedings Requirement
Team confirms English as the sole official language for all submissions, presentations, debates, jury interactions, and communications. Non-compliance may result in penalties or disqualification.
D6Team Composition & Written Communication Consent
Team members cannot be changed from the first to the final round, and only registered participants are allowed to participate. The team agrees that all official competition communications are valid only when issued in writing through the official XLRI Ethics Organising Committee channels. Oral or informal communication is not binding.
D7Procedural Fairness & Rules Agreement
Team confirms having read and agreed to abide by the competition rulebook, blind evaluation protocols, and the 72-hour procedural appeals policy.
Questions
Frequently asked
Anything not covered here can be raised with the Organising Committee before you pay.
What is a Team Hash ID?
An anonymised identifier issued on confirmed payment — ETH-ACAD-101 for Academic teams, ETH-CORP-205 for Industry teams. It is the only identifier that appears on any evaluated submission. Juries never see your name, institution or payment record.
Why can I not use a Gmail or Yahoo address?
Institutional and work email addresses are the committee’s first eligibility check. Every participant must register with an official institutional address (Academic) or work address (Industry). Personal domains are rejected by the portal.
Can we change a team member after registering?
No. Under Declaration D6, team composition is locked from the first round to the final round, and only registered participants may compete. Verify member availability before you pay — the fee is non-refundable.
Is a faculty mentor required?
Optional, and only for Academic teams — one mentor maximum. The mentor may be from a different institution than the team. Industry teams do not have this option.
What documents do we need to upload?
For each member: a photograph, a Student ID card (Academic) or Employee ID / work email screenshot (Industry), and an Aadhaar card. JPEG, PNG or PDF, up to 2 MB per file. Uploads are stored securely and are never visible to evaluators.
We have a sponsor waiver code. Where does it go?
On the payment screen. Enter the code issued by your sponsoring partner and apply it before paying — a valid code waives the full fee and issues your Hash ID directly. Codes are limited and validated against the sponsor entitlement database.
Can we save a partly filled form and come back?
Yes. Your progress is saved to this browser as you type, and the portal offers to restore it when you return on the same device. Uploaded files must be re-attached. Nothing is final until payment succeeds.
Organising Committee
Who to reach
Fr Joseph Mathew S.J.
Faculty Lead
Ms Pushpa M Lakra
Staff Representative
Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury
Organising Chairperson
Joy Banerjee
Media & Communications
Satyaki
Media & Communications
Bring your team. Build the framework.
Registrations close on 20 September 2026, 11:59 PM IST. The portal will not reopen.