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.