~Relentless determination and passion ensures triumph of youths from Jharkhand~

Under the expert guidance of legendary mountaineer Ms Bachendri Pal, three youths from Jharkhand scaled the world's tallest mountain peak, Mount Everest, on May 26, 2012.

Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF), headed by Ms Pal, has trained the three youths. Two of them are Meghlal Mahato and Binita Soren. The third member of the team is Rajendra Singh Pal, brother of Ms Bachendri Pal.

Tata Steel had sponsored Rs 75 lakh for their expedition to Mt. Everest. Tata Steel’s support to the expedition was part of its focus to facilitate the full realisation of the latent potential among the youth of Jharkhand.

Rajendra conquered the summit at 04:40 a.m. today followed by Binita and Meglal who could reach the peak at 06:50 a.m. All three have successfully completed Basic and Advance Mountaineering Courses from recognised National Mountaineering Institutes. They have also gained considerable exposure through participation in programmes conducted in the Himalayas periodically by TSAF to inculcate leadership development skills and mountain fitness.

Mr Rajendra Singh Pal had earlier climbed Mt. Rudugaira (19,100 ft) in 1995 and was a Leader and Summiter of Mt. Sudarshan (21,346 ft) in 2000. He was also a member of Millennium Indian Everest Expedition (East Ridge) in 2001.

Mr Meghlal Mahato has climbed Mt. Stok Kangri (20,305 ft) in 2009 and Mt. Saser Kangri (24,331ft) in 2011. Ms Binita Soren was a member of Indian Women’s First Thar Desert Expedition across the International Border – from Bhuj in Gujarat to Wagah in Punjab – a Camel Safari across Gujarat-Rajasthan-Punjab covering over 2,000 km in 30 days.

The team had set out from Kathmandu on March 25, 2012 and opted to trek from Jiri to Lukla. The intention behind trekking and not flying to Lukla was to acclimatise the climbers to the rigorous route ahead. Ms Bachendri Pal, the leader of the successful Indo-Nepal expedition to the world's highest peak in 1993 and the first Indian woman to climb Mt. Everest, accompanied the climbers from Jiri to Tengboche to see them off. In-between, the team had also scaled the Island Peak at a height 20,275 ft.

"I come from Tumlung village. Three kilometres from my home is a training centre of TSAF. I had heard a lot about mountaineering and, one day, I decided to visit the centre with some of my friends and since then I have never looked back", an excited Binita had said just before the expedition.

Meghlal, who holds a post-graduate degree in Economics, had expressed similar thoughts. “I am very excited about the expedition. Mountaineering has uplifted me from the poverty line to Mt Everest", he had said before embarking upon the expedition.

Mr H M Nerurkar, Managing Director, Tata Steel, congratulated all three climbers and said: “Tata Steel is happy to have sponsored this successful expedition to Mt. Everest where our own climbers from Jharkhand have scaled the world’s highest peak. We will continue to support such activity that helps build self confidence and team spirit and facilitates development of leadership qualities and empowerment in the long term”.

About Tata Steel:
Established in 1907 as Asia's first integrated private sector steel company, Tata Steel Group is amongst the leading steel manufacturers in the world with an annual crude steel capacity of over 27 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). It is now the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries. The Tata Steel Group, with a turnover of US$ 26.64 billion in FY '11, has over 81,000 employees across five continents and is a Fortune 500 company. The Group’s vision is to be the world’s steel industry benchmark in “Value Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, its innovative approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspiration targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency. In 2008, Tata Steel India became the first integrated steel plant in the world, outside Japan, to be awarded the Deming Application Prize 2008 for excellence in Total Quality Management.