Rajnath felicitates NCC team for scaling Mount Everest
New Delhi, June 12 (UNI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday felicitated the National Cadet Corps (NCC) mountaineering expedition team, that scaled Mount Everest on May 18.
Honouring the raw courage, grit and patriotism of the team, led by Col Amit Bisht, Rajnath presented a cheque of Rs 10 lakh for achieving the feat in the harshest of conditions without any injury, a Defence Ministry statement said.
The cadets, comprising five girls and five boys, shared their experiences of the expedition, detailing the rigorous training, meticulous planning and challenges encountered.
The Defence Minister commended the team for passing the test of courage, discipline, resilience and composure with flying colours.
Terming the cadets as a source of inspiration to the younger generation, Rajnath stated that, with the expedition, the brave cadets have sent a message that even the world's highest peak is no limit for the youth of the country. He exuded confidence that the cadets would overcome future challenges with the same courage and determination they displayed while scaling Mount Everest.
He acknowledged the efforts of NCC towards instilling the feeling of national pride among the cadets while ensuring their holistic growth by making them physically, mentally and emotionally strong and developing their social skills. He also appreciated the family members of the cadets who supported them in this endeavour. DG NCC Lt Gen Gurbirpal Singh was among the dignitaries present on the occasion.
The feat marked the third successful Everest expedition by the NCC, following similar accomplishments in 2013 and 2016. The expedition team comprised 10 cadets, a contingent of officers, junior commissioned officers, instructors and non-commissioned officers. The team consisted of Subedar Major Balkar Singh, the first Subedar Major of the Indian Army to summit Mount Everest. The young cadet of the team was just 16 years old.
The expedition team was formally flagged off by Rajnath Singh on April 3.
UNI RBE PRS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
Video: Bengaluru Auto Driver Screams At Woman Over Fare, Demands She Speak Kannada
In recent times, the Kannada language row in Karnataka has sparked significant debate, particularly in Bengaluru, a city known for its multicultural population. While advocates suggest people learn the language, claiming it's a way of respecting the local culture, critics argue that such a demand is exclusionary in a cosmopolitan setting. Now, a video of a heated argument between a woman and a Bengaluru auto rickshaw driver has reignited the language debate online. Taking to Instagram, user Anya S shared a video in which the auto driver is seen speaking in Kannada in a visibly aggressive tone. She said that the argument between the two began after the driver demanded Rs 390 for a ride that, according to her Rapido app, was supposed to cost Rs 296. In the video, Anya repeatedly tells the driver that she will pay what the app says. "Don't scream at me. I'll only pay what the app says," she says. However, as the driver continues to scream at her, she calls over another auto-rickshaw driver, saying, "Aap yahan aao, mujhe darr lag raha hai (Come here, I'm feeling scared)." The driver, on the other hand, becomes aggressive, demanding that she speak Kannada. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anya S (@anyadamnson) In the caption, Anya recounted the entire incident. "This isn't about refusing to learn the local language - of course I want to learn Kannada. But when people behave like this, it makes me question myself. It makes me think, why should I make the effort when they don't know how to treat me with basic respect?" she wrote. "I calmly told him I'd pay what the app showed. Rs 296. That's it. But he began shouting. He stepped in, came close - trying to intimidate me, scare me. He mocked me for speaking Hindi. Told me I had no right to be here if I didn't speak Kannada. But this wasn't about language. This was about entitlement, aggression, and disrespect," Anya continued. She further made it clear that she wasn't against paying extra when deserved. "I'm someone who happily pays extra when I've had a good ride. But not when someone tries to bully or threaten me into it," she wrote. "We're part of this city. We live here, we work here, we contribute to its economy. And that means we deserve fairness, dignity, and safety - no matter what language we speak. If you've ever felt unsafe or second-guessed yourself in moments like this - you are not wrong. You are not alone. And you have every right to say no," she concluded. As the video gained traction online, ride-hailing app Rapido responded, assuring action. "At Rapido, customer safety and dignity are our highest priorities, Anya... the reported captain has been permanently barred from our platform. Additionally, we are working on implementing stronger protocols for our captains to prevent such incidents in the future," the company commented. Bengaluru locals also responded to the clip. One user wrote, "As a proud Kannadiga, I want to apologize for the unacceptable behavior of some individuals who are tarnishing our reputation and that of South India. I recommend exploring alternative transportation options like Yulu electric scooters, buses, and metros. On behalf of all educated Kannadigas, we extend our sincerest you're safe and okay." "Last resort when they get caught is speak in Kannada , these unruly autodrivers don't represent Karnataka and our Kannada . They behave the same with Kannadigas too," commented another.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Explained: The cost of rising imports
Rao Gulab Singh Lodi has harvested roughly 90 quintals of summer moong (green gram) from his 16-acres land in Nanhegaon village of Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district. His major worry: The government's apathy in procuring the pulses crop that's fetching Rs 6,000 or so per quintal in the open market, as against its official minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 8,682. It's not only moong. Lodhi cultivates soyabean during the kharif (monsoon) season, sowing the leguminous oilseed in early-July and harvesting by mid-October, followed by chana (chickpea) and masoor (red lentil) during rabi (winter-spring). After harvesting masoor towards March 10 and chana around March 15-20, he sows summer moong that matures in 60-70 days. In none of these crops is there any systematic government procurement at MSP, comparable to that in rice and wheat. 'It is my misfortune that I cannot grow rice or even wheat (except for self-consumption) here. The black cotton soil in my area is basically suitable for pulses and oilseeds,' says Lodhi. The 65-year-old is a progressive farmer. He plants the best recommended varieties, whether in soyabean ('JS 20-116' and 'JS 2172' bred by the Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya at Jabalpur), moong ('PDM 139' by the Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur), masoor ('IPL 329' by the same institute) or chana ('Pusa Manav' by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi). But Lodhi isn't as lucky as the farmers who take rice and wheat. Soyabean is selling in MP's mandis at Rs 4,100-4,200 per quintal. That's below not only the MSP of Rs 5,328 for the upcoming 2025-26, but even the Rs 4,892 of last year's crop. The low prices notwithstanding, Lodhi is going ahead with planting soyabean: 'Vikalp kya hai (what option do I have)?'. The woes for Indian pulses and oilseeds growers come amid all-time-high imports during 2024-25 (April-March). In the case of pulses, these touched 7.3 million tonnes (mt) and valued at $5.5 billion, surpassing the previous record of 6.6 mt and $4.2 billion for 2016-17. Pulses imports had actually registered a substantial dip after 2017-18, to an average of 2.6 mt worth $1.7 billion during the subsequent five years (Charts 1a and 1b). This came on the back of improved domestic production. India's pulses output, which stood at 19.3 mt in 2013-14 and 17.2 mt in 2014-15 and 16.3 mt in 2015-16 (both drought years), climbed to 27.3 mt in 2021-22 and 26.1 mt in 2022-23. Much of that was courtesy of chana and moong, with scientists breeding short-duration varieties (100-120 days) requiring hardly any irrigation in the former and those amenable to growing across all seasons in the latter. Farmers today plant moong in kharif and rabi as well as spring and summer. However, the relative self-sufficiency or atmanirbharta achieved in pulses was reversed in 2023-24, which was an El Niño-induced drought year. Domestic production dropped to 24.2 mt in 2023-24 and recovered partly to 25.2 mt in 2024-25, as per the Agriculture Ministry's data. Falling output and retail inflation in pulses soaring to double digits by mid-2023 led to a slashing of duties on imports, which peaked during the last fiscal. The 7.3 mt of pulses imports in 2024-25 included 2.2 mt of yellow/white peas (largely from Canada and Russia), 1.6 mt of chana (from Australia), 1.2 mt each of arhar or pigeon-pea (from Mozambique, Tanzania, Myanmar, Sudan and Malawi) and masoor (from Canada, Australia and United States), and 0.8 mt of urad or black gram (from Myanmar and Brazil). As imports surged, the consumer price index (CPI) inflation in pulses eased to 3.8% year-on-year by December 2024 and further to 2.6%, -0.4%, -2.7%, -5.2% and -8.2% in the following five months. The shoe is on the other foot now, with arhar and chana selling at Rs 6,400-6,450 and Rs 5,450-5,500 per quintal respectively in Maharashtra's Latur mandi, below their corresponding MSPs of Rs 7,550 and Rs 5,650. In vegetable oils, the story has been a more uniform one – of increasing import dependence. The last 11 years have seen imports more than double from 7.9 mt to 16.4 mt, a trend that the Narendra Modi government may want to arrest, if not reverse. In value terms, imports almost trebled from $7.2 billion in 2013-14 to $20.8 billion in 2022-23, which was around the time when international prices skyrocketed owing to supply disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine war. While global prices have come off those peaks, the quantum of imports has continued to rise (Charts 2a and 2b). The 16.4 mt of imports during 2024-25 mainly comprised 7.9 mt of palm (primarily from Indonesia and Malaysia), 4.8 mt of soyabean (from Argentina and Brazil) and 3.5 mt of sunflower oil (from Russia, Ukraine and Argentina). On the other hand, India's production of oil from domestically grown oilseeds and secondary sources such as cottonseed, rice bran and maize is estimated at just about 10 mt, translating into an import dependence of well over 60%. CPI inflation in vegetable oils, unlike pulses, has been ruling at double digits since November 2024, with the latest May reading at 17.9%. It explains the Modi government's decision, on May 30, to cut the basic customs duty on crude palm, soyabean and sunflower oil from 20% to 10% and the overall import tariff (after adding an agriculture cess and social welfare surcharge) from 27.5% to 16.5%. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects the lowering of duty to result in a 'further increase' in soyabean oil imports by India. Although its market is dominated by Argentina, 'the reduced tariff can boost the import of US soyabean oil,' a USDA report, dated June 10, has stated. All this would mean imports likely hitting a new high in the current fiscal, even as the USDA has projected a record-breaking global vegetable oil output of 235 mt for 2025-26, led by palm (80.7 mt) and soyabean (70.8 mt). And that may not be good news for farmers like Lodhi. The Soyabean Processors Association of India has expressed concern over the 11-percentage points duty cut, which is expected to 'flood the Indian market with cheaper imported oils'. That will make oilseed cultivation less attractive to farmers, who may sow less area and switch to other more profitable crops in this kharif season, said Davish Jain, chairman of the Indore-based association. Harish Damodaran is National Rural Affairs & Agriculture Editor of The Indian Express. A journalist with over 33 years of experience in agri-business and macroeconomic policy reporting and analysis, he has previously worked with the Press Trust of India (1991-94) and The Hindu Business Line (1994-2014). ... Read More
Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Indian Express
Cook who was rolling chapatis, gardener who married recently among Ahmedabad plane crash survivors on ground
Raginiben Shaileshkumar Rajput, 43, one of the 17 cooks at the students' mess of BJ Medical College and Hospital had readied a meal of choli-bataka (beans-potato), rice, dal, and sprouts with buttermilk and salad. She vaguely remembers some 30-40 students who had come to dine on Thursday, when the Air India flight AI-171 crashed shortly after take-off on Thursday, stunning her and the others in the dining hall. Traumatised and injured, Raginiben was finally discharged on Saturday. Sitting on the first floor of the mess called 'Gaurang' after cooking, she was rolling chapatis when Raginiben suddenly heard a loud noise, she said. 'I was startled by something like a bomb blast. I had no clue what happened. Within seconds, the entire place was filled with choking smoke and dust. I could not see anything. Even my eyes started burning,' Raginiben told The Indian Express Saturday. 'After some time, when something was visible, I ran downstairs but the stairs were blocked by the debris and I fell and hurt my spine,' she added. Besides Raginiben, some staff members of the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital were also injured and are under treatment. Raginiben has been cooking at this mess for nearly seven years. The mess is operated by the medical students themselves, and each of the 17 women cooks are tasked with cooking for 40-50 students a day and are paid Rs 10 per plate. Sharing the financial burden of running her family of four, Raginiben said that earlier she worked in the hostels inside the main campus of Civil Hospital before shifting to Gaurang mess as the dilapidated hostel blocks A and B were brought down and students shifted to these blocks. Ajay Parmar, 28, who works as a gardener at the Civil Hospital, got married on May 10. On Thursday, he was on a scooter, heading to his house in Chandkheda for lunch, when he too got injured as the flight crashed. Parmar's brother Deepakbhai, an autorickshaw driver, was among the firsts to reach the crash site and help in the rescue operations. Little did he know that not too far away from the main site, his younger sibling was among the injured. Speaking to The Indian Express, Deepakbhai said, 'We recovered around 45 bodies of passengers who were completely charred, and also those from the mess building and nearby. By the time we reached, ambulance and police were already there and the fire brigade vehicles came soon after. Within sometime, I received a call from my mother informing me that Ajay too was admitted at the trauma centre.' Deepakbhai added: 'When he (Ajay) saw the sudden fireball and thick smoke above, he left his scooter and ran for shelter. But the fireball fell on him, severely burning his legs and hands. He was brought in an ambulance to the Civil Hospital's trauma centre where one of the doctors recognised him and called my mother as my mother does household chores at the doctors' residence.' Barely 3 km from the crash site, Rajeshbhai Patri, 45, an autorickshaw driver from Ahmedabad's Saraspur area, was waiting for passengers like he did any other normal afternoon when tragedy struck. Currently admitted to the Civil Hospital for chest injuries, Rajeshbhai, who has been driving an autorickshaw for 25 years, was among the fortunate few who survived the AI-171 crash. His son Tusharbhai, 22, said: 'He was sitting in his parked autorickshaw along the wall near the boys' hostel when he suddenly heard a loud noise from the aircraft flying overhead. When he noticed that something was amiss, he started running for shelter. It was then that huge concrete parts hit his chest.' As Rajeshbhai's mobile phone remained in the autorickshaw, the family came to know about his plight when they received a call from a stranger around 2 pm, informing them that he had been taken to the Civil Hospital in an ambulance. Still in trauma, he is barely speaking, Tushar said.
