~The ace mountaineer trains her sight at climbing the tallest seven summits across the world~

Hon'ble Union Minister for Sports, Shri Ajay Maken, today flagged off the next big mountaineering expedition by ace mountaineer Ms Premlata Agrawal. She has trained her sight on completing the 'Mountaineering Challenge' of climbing the "Seven Summits".

After scaling Mt. Everest (29,035 ft.), Killimanjaro (19,334 ft.) and Aconcagua (22,841 ft.), the 45 year old mountaineer is all charged up for her expedition to the remaining four summits - Mount Elbrus (Europe), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), Mount McKinley (North America) and Carstensz Pyramid (Indonesia). Tata Steel is the proud sponsor of her expedition, and is supporting her with a sponsorship of Rs 55 lakhs to climb the remaining four summits.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Maken said, "It gives me great pride and joy to flag off another adventurous expedition of Premlata. Efforts of corporates like Tata Steel to support Indian sportspersons are laudable. Premlata's successful expedition would be an unprecedented achievement for India. We wish her all the very best"

The one who completes this challenge of conquering all the seven summits is considered to be a member of the 'Hall of Fame' for mountaineers. If Premlata achieves this remarkable feat - she is targeting 2013 for that- she will then become the first Indian and the oldest woman to conquer all the seven summits.

Ms Premlata Agrawal expressed her profound gratitude for Tata Steel. She said, "My initiation in the field of adventure came by chance, and has been an uphill journey. I am looking forward to taste success by climbing all the seven summits. I would like to thank Tata Steel and my mentor Ms Bachendri Pal for their support."

The tentative dates for climbing the summits are: Mt McKinley (May 20-June 2012), Mt Elbrus (July 15- 28, 2012), Carstensz Pyramid (October 14 - 27, 2012) and Mount Vinson (Dec. 14 – 29, 2012).

On prior occasions, Ms Agrawal has participated in several expeditions, notable among them being-

• The Island Peak Expedition in Nepal (20,600 ft) in 2004,
• The Karakoram Pass Expedition (18,300 ft) and Mt Stok Kangri (20,150 ft) in 2006,
• The First "Indian Woman's Thar Desert Expedition" in 2007 which involved a 40 day Camel Safari along the International Border from Bhuj in Gujarat - Rann of Kutch - Thar in Rajasthan, upto Wagah Border in Punjab.

These achievements were also recognised as a National Record and found her a place in the Limca Book of Records. Premlata, a homemaker and mother of two grown up daughters, started climbing mountains at the age of 35.

About Tata Steel (General)
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.