Syllabus
GS 1: geographical features and their location
GS 3: Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.
Context:
Recently, a contingent of mountaineers from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police has scaled Mount Makalu, the world’s fifth-tallest peak, located in Nepal.
More on the News
- The International Mountaineering Expedition to Mt. Makalu and Mt. Annapurna (8,091 m) was flagged off from Delhi on March 21.
- This marks a historic milestone as it was part of a twin summit attempt, the first ever in ITBP’s history.
Expedition Overview
- The Mt. Makalu team, Led by Deputy Commandant Anoop Kumar Negi, achieved an 83% success rate, with five climbers reaching the summit on April 19, 2025, in Nepal.
- The Mt. Annapurna team faced extreme weather, including a blizzard and whiteout conditions, and made a courageous push up to 7,940 meters, just 150 meters below the summit, before making a safe retreat.
- As part of the ‘Clean Himalaya – Save Glacier’ campaign, the team showed its commitment to the environment by collecting 150 kg of non-biodegradable waste from higher mountain camps during the expedition.
The top five mountains of the world
ITBP’s Mountaineering Legacy
With the successful Makalu summit, ITBP has now scaled 6 of the world’s 14 “eight-thousanders” peaks.
Total peaks climbed: 229, including:
- Mt. Everest (scaled 5 times)
- Mt. Kanchenjunga
- Mt. Dhaulagiri
- Mt. Lhotse
- Mt. Manaslu
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
- The ITBP Force was raised on 24 October, 1962.
- Motto: Shaurya, Dridhata, Karm Nishtha (Valour, Determination, Devotion to Duty).
- It was initially raised under the CRPF Act. However, in 1992, parliament enacted the ITBPF Act and the rules there under were framed in 1994.
- It is a central armed police force which comes under the Union Home ministry.
- In the year 2004, in pursuance of GoM recommendations on “One Border One Force”, the entire stretch of the India-China Border comprising 3488 Kms was assigned to the ITBP for Border Guarding duty.
- As a result, ITBP replaced Assam Rifles in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in 2004.
- Its border coverage presently ranges from the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jhep La in Arunachal Pradesh.