1. Introduction

ERNET India is an Autonomous Scientific Society of Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India and authorized to function as exclusive domain registrar for registering domain names of educational and research institutions situated in India under ac.in, edu.in, res.in and विद्या.भारत,शिक्षा.भारत,शोध.भारत Accordingly, ERNET India allocates domain names to educational and research Institutions in compliance of guidelines in order to cater to the growing requirements of the stake holders in transparent manner

2. Definition of Academic/ Educational/ Research Institution

• Academic/Research institution(s) is an educational/research institution affiliated or recognized or registered by/under Central/State Act or regulation or educational Board dedicated to impart education and /or research.
• Institution imparting Vocational/professional academic courses such as technical studies and vocational training affiliated to Government is also referred to as academic institution.
• Organization/ institutions registered under Skill Development Ministry or any other Ministry of Govt. of India, offering certificate/ diploma course recognized by Govt. is also referred to as academic institution.
• All Research institutes/organization involved in research work having documentary proof of their mandate/copy of Registration paper/letter from Govt. or Govt. recognized organization is referred to as research institution.

3. Requirements for Domain Registration

1. Before applying for domain name, kindly check the availability of domain name at https://www.registry.ernet.in.
2. Eligible institutions can apply for domain names only through online mode at https://www.registry.ernet.in after filling the declaration as Annexure I.
3. Institution has to submit the following documents:
1. Application letter for registration of domain on the letterhead of the Institution duly signed and stamped by the Head of the Institution in a format provided by ERNET India (Annexure 'A').
2. Original undertaking duly signed and stamped by the head of the institute on Non-Judicial Stamp paper or e-stamp of Rs.100/- in a format provided by ERNET India (Annexure 'B').
3. Appointment letter of the head of the Institute (optional).
4. Copy of affiliation/Approval/Recognition letter of Central/State Education board/University/AICTE/Govt./UGC etc.
   • If the affiliation letter is in a language other than Hindi or English, the institution has to get it verbatim translated by an authorised translator of the court. It should be signed and stamped by the head of the Institution.
   • In case the domain name to be registered is under “res.in/ शोध.भारत,” then documentary proof that the Institute/Organization is involved in research work, like a copy of a letter from DST/State Govt. DST, is also required.
5. Registration document/certificate registered under central/state act or regulation, establishing the legal constitution of the applicant/Registrant and that the registrant/applicant is in the business of education.
6. GSTN certificate, if applicable: In case the institution is providing the GSTN number of their parent society/trust/foundation etc., then the institution has to provide the PAN Card and Registration certificate of the parent society/trust. Kindly note that the GST invoice will be issued in the name of the institution whose GST Number is provided while filling the application form for domain registration.
4. All these documents should be attested by the head of the Institution and have to be uploaded in PDF format (maximum limit of file size is 2 MB).
5. The true copies of the original undertaking on Non-Judicial stamp paper of Rs.100/- must be sent to Domain Registration Division, ERNET India, 5th Floor, Block-I, A Wing, DMRC IT Park, Shastri Park, New Delhi -110053 within 15 days from the date of submission of the online application. Postal delay, etc., shall be attributable to the applicant only and no correspondence/representation will be entertained by ERNET India in this regard thereafter.
6. Only online payments (Internet banking/Credit Card/debit Card/IMPS/UPI etc.) for registration/renewal/DNS of domain will be accepted while filling the online registration/renewal/DNS form through the portal https://www.registry.ernet.in. Offline payments like DD, Cheque, NEFT through bank, cash deposit, etc., will not be accepted and will be returned back.
7. Fresh documents as mentioned above have to be submitted online at the time of renewal also.
8. Universities/State Education Department/Group of Institutions can apply for multiple/bulk domain registrations with the following documents:
   1. Application letter for registration of multiple/bulk domain names on the letterhead of the Institution applying for multiple/bulk domain names duly signed and stamped by the Head of the Institution in a format provided by ERNET India (Annexure 'C').
   2. Original undertaking duly signed and stamped by the head of the institute applying for multiple/bulk domain names on Non-Judicial Stamp paper or e-stamp of Rs.100/- in a format provided by ERNET India (Annexure 'D').

4. Eligibility for Registration

All the institutions fulfilling the definition of Academic/Educational/research Institution as mentioned above at point no. 2 are eligible for registration of domain name under ac.in, edu.in, res.in and विद्या.भारत शिक्षा.भारत,शोध.भारत and submission of required relevant documents as mentioned at point no 3 above.

5. Domain Naming Guidelines

1. Allocation of edu.in, ac.in, res.in and विद्या.भारत, शिक्षा.भारत, शोध.भारत domains shall conform to standard domain naming conventions (as given below) and WHOIS safeguards i.e., contact details of registrants will not be visible on WHOIS.
2. .IN domain names may be between 3 and 63 characters in length.
3. Only letters (A-Z and a-z), digits (0-9), and hyphens will be accepted in a domain name. Names cannot begin or end with hyphens.
4. Other special characters like the underscore "_" exclamation mark "!" etc. are not permitted.
5. Domain names are not case-sensitive.
6. www.sarvodya.ac.in is not a domain name; www is actually the name of a computer in the domain sarvodya.ac.in.
7. Generic domain names, reserved names (as defined by .IN Registry), and individual person's name-based domain names are not allowed for registration under edu.in, ac.in, res.in and विद्या.भारत, शिक्षा.भारत, शोध.भारत.
8. Domain name should match with Institution's/college/university/school full name or in abbreviated form.
9. The requested domain name of any private Institution should not be similar to any Government Organization/Institution (full or abbreviated) or country name. For example, an educational Institution like "Ganesh Onkara Institution" should not request domain names like GOI.AC.IN or GOI.EDU.IN or GOI.RES.IN as GOI is used for Government of India, or Uttrakhand Girls College should not apply for UGC.AC.IN or UGC.EDU.IN (As UGC is for University Grant Commission) or Uttam Sanskrit Academic should not apply for USA.AC.IN or USA.EDU.IN (as USA is a country name). Domain names similar to reputed Institutions like IIT, AIIMS, JNU, CSIR, NPL etc., will not be allotted to other than these institutions.

6. General Registration Terms and Conditions

(i) Term

• Domain names may be registered for a minimum of one (1) year, and a maximum of ten (10) years.
• Domain name can be renewed for a maximum of 9 years at a given time.
• If a domain is not renewed before the expiry of the domain name, it will be deactivated (kept on hold for 40 days) on the date of expiry. For re-activation of the domain name, re-activation charges of Rs.1000+GST will be applicable along with the renewal charges.
• Further, if a domain is not renewed even after deactivation, it will be deleted in 40 days of expiry. Then to restore the domain name, restoration charges of Rs.2500/- plus GST will be applicable along with renewal charges. Even after deletion, the domain can be restored within 30 days of deletion. Thereafter it will be permanently deleted and the same domain name will be again available for registration.

(ii) Contact Information

Registrants must provide true, accurate contact information and promptly correct and update them during the term of the Registered Name. The following types of contact details are required during the registration process: Head of the Institution, Administrative, Technical, and Billing. The Administrative contact of the domain must be from the Institution requesting the domain name.

(iii) Inaccurate Information

A domain user’s (Registrant) willful or grossly negligent provision of inaccurate, false or unreliable information, and in the event the registrant willfully or grossly neglects to promptly update information provided to Registrar (ERNET India) shall constitute a material breach of the Registrant's terms and conditions with the Registrar and be a basis for cancellation of the Registered Name, and any other action under the relevant laws of India.

(iv) Transfers

Domains under ac.in, edu.in, res.in, विद्या.भारत, शिक्षा.भारत, शोध.भारत zones are non-transferable i.e., registrants are not allowed to transfer their domains to other registrars as ERNET India has been designated by GoI as the exclusive registrar for registering domains under the above-mentioned reserved zones.

(v) Nameservers

In order to appear (the domain requested) in the zone file and resolve on the Internet, at least two (2) valid nameservers along with the valid DNS entry must be associated with the domain name before the registration is done with ERNET India. It is necessary to run domain name servers (DNS servers) for the domain being registered. These Servers provide the service for translating domain names to IP addresses for hosts in the domain. These nameservers may belong either to the organization or the Internet Service Provider/Web Service Provider (ISP/WSP) or the user may avail nameservers of ERNET India.

(vi) Domain Dispute Resolution Policy

Domain Dispute Resolution Policy will be in conformity with .IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (INDRP) as modified from time to time. More information can be found here.

(vii) Reserved Names

The government has reserved a list of names for government and registry use available at this link. Domain names under the reserved name can be registered on request by the user and subject to the approval of the .IN Registry.

(viii) Refund Policy

1. The refund request will be entertained only if submitted within 60 days of submitting online payment for valid reasons only and before registration of the domain. Once the domain is registered, then the refund will not be processed.
2. If required documents are not uploaded within 15 days of filling the online application form, then the application will be deleted and payment will be refunded in due course. A fresh/new application will need to be filled in such cases along with payment as applicable.
3. If the domain registration application is rejected due to invalid documents and/or applied for unrecognized institution, and valid documents are not uploaded within 10 days of rejection, then the application will get automatically deleted by the system and payment will be refunded in due course.
4. All Refunds will be issued to the mode/account through which online payment was made.

(ix) Policies Adherence

All Policies issued by .IN Registry from time to time will be adhered by the domain user/Registrant.

(x) Security and Integrity

Registrant will be fully responsible for maintaining the security & integrity of the websites created and hosted by using the allocated domain. Registrant ensures to adhere to CERT-In Security Guidelines for their websites.

7. Suspension/Freezing of Domains

Domains allocated earlier under edu.in, ac.in, res.in and विद्या.भारत, शिक्षा.भारत,शोध.भारत may be suspended in case of the following violations:

1. If documents submitted for domain registration are found fake/forged/wrong;
2. If found later that domain is being used for other than educational or research purposes;
3. If any organization is not involved (if found later) in educational, academic, or research activities after their domain registration under edu.in, ac.in, and res.in, विद्या.भारत, शिक्षा.भारत,शोध.भारत and involved in other web activities unrelated to academic/research;
4. If any contact information or any other information given while registration of the domain is found inaccurate or suppressed or concealed;
5. If in future there is any dispute among management regarding the Institution’s and domain name ownership / Management / Head of organization;
6. If any fraudulent activity is found on the Website of the registered domain;
7. In future, in case of any legal dispute arises regarding the domain name among office bearers of the institution, ERNET India may decide either to continue or suspend/freeze the domain name based on the document provided to ERNET India in this regard. The decision of ERNET India will be final and shall not be put into question;
8. If any direction from Court, CERT-In, IB, or any Govt. Authority;
9. Domain User/Registrant shall indemnify ERNET India, its management, and officers against any and all costs, liabilities, losses, and expenses (including, but not limited to, legal expenses) arising out of any claim, suit, action or proceeding for any act(s) and/or omissions of the Institution.

8. Domain Registration Steps

Refer to the document https://registry.ernet.in/ERNET_HelpFile.pdf for detailed steps.

9. Value Added Services

ERNET India is providing 2 Value added services viz Website as a Service (WaaS) and Learning Management as a Service(LMaaS) in which registered domain user can create website and LMS of their Institution using user friendly templates provided in the said portal. The website created will be hosted securely on ERNET servers on https through SSL certificates. For these services also only online payments are acceptable.

Terms and Conditions for Value Added Services (WaaS and LMaaS)

1. That ownership of the content uploaded on the website using the domain name will be of the Institution. ERNET India will not be responsible for the website content.
2. That no illegal, offensive (including but not limited to material that is sexually explicit content or which promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm), deceptive, misleading, abusive, indecent, harassing, blasphemous, defamatory, libellous, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic or menacing; ethnically objectionable, disparaging content will be uploaded on the website using this domain (domain name).
3. That no content will be uploaded on the website that is objectionable or otherwise unlawful in any manner whatsoever; or which consists of or contains software viruses, political campaigning, commercial solicitation, chain letters, mass mailings or any "spam".
4. That no content will be uploaded on the website that infringes upon or violates any third party’s rights including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights, rights of privacy (including without limitation unauthorized disclosure of a person’s name, e-mail address, physical address or phone number) or rights of publicity.
5. That ERNET India will not be responsible for any hacking of Institution’s website and redirection to any fraudulent activity like gaming site, bank website, any website having financial/payment.
6. ERNET reserves the rights to delete content or suspend the website in case any of the above-mentioned activities are observed.

10. Disclaimer

The registration of a domain name (URL of website/or e-mail) is not a proof for the existence of an organization and may not be used as evidence in court matters/dispute of ownership or any other purposes. ERNET India will not be answerable to anybody and anywhere as the registration of a domain is done on the basis of documents presented/uploaded in the online system by the registrant. Hence, the Registrant of the domain name will be responsible for its truthfulness and for any requirement by legal authorities or public i.e., RTI.

Based on adequate justification, Director General, ERNET India, can relax document requirements and terms & conditions mentioned in the guidelines.