Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday honoured members of a National Cadet Corps (NCC) expedition team whose members recently accomplished the remarkable feat of summiting Mount Everest and proudly hoisting the Indian tricolour on the world’s highest peak.
The expedition, which reached the summit in the early hours of May 18, included a diverse team comprising 10 NCC cadets—five male and five female—along with four officers, two junior commissioned officers (JCOs), one female cadet instructor, and 10 non-commissioned officers (NCOs). The team was led by Colonel Amit Bisht, and achieved the mission without any injuries, despite operating in extreme conditions.
At a felicitation ceremony held at South Block in New Delhi, the Defence Minister praised the courage, determination, and patriotism displayed by the team. In recognition of their achievement, he presented a cheque of ₹10 lakh to the expedition team. The average age of the cadets in the team was just 19.
During the event, the young cadets shared vivid accounts of their experience, highlighting the rigorous training, meticulous planning, and challenging terrain they endured during the expedition. Rajnath Singh lauded the cadets as a “source of inspiration” for the youth of India, stating that their triumph demonstrates that “even the world’s highest peak is not a limit for India’s young generation.”
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The expedition had been officially flagged off by Singh himself on April 3 from New Delhi. This summit marks the third successful Mount Everest expedition by the NCC, with earlier achievements recorded in 2013 and 2016.
List of Cadets Who Scaled Everest:
- Cadet Monika – Rajasthan
- Cadet Pratima Rai – West Bengal
- Cadet Rifiness Warjri – Meghalaya
- Cadet Kritika Sharma – Himachal Pradesh
- Cadet Abida Afreen – Ladakh
- Cadet Mohit Knathia – Jammu & Kashmir
- Cadet Padma Namgail – Chandigarh
- Cadet Virendra Singh Samant – Uttarakhand
- Cadet Sachin Kumar – Uttarakhand
- Cadet Mukul Bangwal – Uttarakhand
Among those present at the ceremony was Director General of NCC, Lt Gen Gurbirpal Singh, along with other senior officers. Notably, the team also included Subedar Major Balkar Singh, who made history by becoming the first Subedar Major of the Indian Army to summit Mount Everest.
The Defence Ministry emphasised that the successful expedition not only showcases the physical and mental endurance of India’s youth but also reinforces the NCC’s commitment to instilling discipline, adventure, and a spirit of patriotism among its cadets.
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