Himalaya

China's Prez Xi praises Nepal PM Oli's commitment to promote bilateral ties

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday lauded visiting Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's commitment to promote China-Nepal relations and pledged to advance strategic ties with Kathmandu as both sides inked nine agreements. Oli arrived in Beijing on Monday on a four-day visit to China, his first official visit to that country after assuming office for the fourth time. Xi met Oli and expressed appreciation for the Nepalese leader's firm commitment to promoting friendship between the two sides over a long period, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. He also pledged efforts to advance the strategic partnership of cooperation with Nepal where Beijing has scaled up its investments in the last decade, expanding its influence in the landlocked country located between India and China. Xi said China and Nepal, linked by the same mountains and rivers, are good neighbours, good friends and good partners, and bilateral relations have maintained sound and steady development. Noting that n

Govt to overhaul nationwide weather monitoring infra for accurate forecasts

The Ministry of Earth Sciences gears up to harness advanced technologies and expand infrastructure for precise climate prediction and intervention

From fighters to copters, how R&D powers HAL's Himalayan-altitude flight

In the first of a two-part series on India's indigenous aerospace industry, Business Standard traces HAL's pioneering research and development

In the shadow of the mighty Annapurna

The unusual charm of trekking to Mardi Himal in the rainy season

KPMG plans C-suite topup across verticals to power Project Himalaya

The Project Himalaya, announced last year, involves the merger of the delivery capabilities of consulting, risk, and advisory practices of its units in the US, the UK, and India

Water shortages feared as snow in Hindu Kush Himalaya hits record low

The Hindu Kush Himalaya is experiencing significantly lower snow persistence this year, raising serious concern over water security for downstream communities, according to a new report. Leading experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a Nepal-based intergovernmental organisation, have urged water management officials to initiate drought management strategies and preemptive emergency water supply measures. The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region heavily depends on the cryosphere -- frozen water on the Earth's surface, including snow, permafrost, and ice from glaciers, lakes and rivers. This frozen water is a critical source of freshwater for around 240 million (24 crore) people living in the HKH region and has far-reaching benefits for around 1.65 billion (165 crore) people downstream. Snowmelt accounts for around 23 per cent of the total water flow of 12 major river basins originating in the HKH. However, its contribution varies from river to

Priyanka Gandhi urges Centre, U'khand govt to prevent forest fire incidents

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday urged the Centre and the Uttarakhand government to take steps to prevent forest fire incidents and make effective efforts with everyone's cooperation to save the Himalayas. Her remarks came after four forest workers were killed and four others injured while extinguishing a fire at the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary under the Civil Soyam Forest Division in Almora district of Uttarakhand. In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "The news of the death of four employees who went to extinguish the forest fire in Almora, Uttarakhand and many others getting injured is extremely saddening. I pray to God for everyone. I request the state government to provide compensation and assistance at every possible level to the affected families." The forests of Uttarakhand have been burning continuously for the past several months and hundreds of hectares of forest have been destroyed, she noted. There are reports of forest fires in Himachal Pradesh as well, s

Heavy rain, landslides kill 6 in India's Sikkim, 2,000 tourists stranded

Heavy rains triggered landslides at several locations in Mangan district, which covers north Sikkim and lies about 100 km north of the state capital Gangtok

NCLT allows insolvency against Himalayan Mineral Water on J-K Bank's plea

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has directed initiating insolvency proceedings against Himalayan Mineral Waters, allowing Jammu & Kashmir Bank's plea for default of a corporate guarantee given for LeeL Electricals. The Allahabad bench of NCLT has also appointed Bhoopesh Gupta as the interim resolution professional (IRP) for this Dehradun-based firm's Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). "We are satisfied that the Applicant/Financial Creditor (J&K Bank) has proved the debt and the default, which is more than the threshold limit... the application u/s 7 is found to be fit for initiation of the CIRP against the Corporate Debtor (Himalayan Mineral Waters," said a two-member bench in the order passed last Monday. Jammu & Kashmir Bank had claimed a default of Rs 50 crore against Himalayan Mineral Waters, engaged in the business of manufacturing of beverages, being the corporate guarantor for the credit facilities availed by the Leel Electricals. LeeL ...

Winter session: CPI moves notices seeking discussion on 'Himalayan ecology'

This came in the backdrop of Uttarakhand's Shilkyara tunnel collapse, wherein 41 workers got trapped and were rescued after a 17-long day

Himalaya tunnel disaster: India needs more caution on infrastructure

This is clearly an incredibly fragile part of the world, where large-scale development projects can only be conducted with the utmost caution

Aerosols heating up Himalayan climate, accelerates glacier's retreat: Study

Aerosols are heating up the Himalayan climate and contributing significantly to the accelerated retreat of the glaciers and changes in the precipitation patterns over the Hindu Kush-Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau (HKHTP) region, researchers said. Aerosols alone account for more than half of the total warming of the region's lower atmosphere, with the remainder coming from greenhouse gases, the researchers from the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, and Helmholtz Centre Potsdam and the University of Leipzig, Germany found in a joint study. According to the study, aerosols will likely remain a key factor driving climate change over the region. The researchers observed the concentrations of aerosols and the the amount of heat absorbed (radiative forcing) across several locations in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), the Himalayan foothills and the Tibetan Plateau. These are "relatively poorly studied regions with several sensitive ecosystems of global importance, as well as highly vulnera

Excess rainfall, glacial lake outburst likely cause of Sikkim flood: NDMA

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday said the possible cause of the flash flood in Sikkim could be a combination of excess rainfall and a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) event at South Lhonak lake in North Sikkim. In a statement, the NDMA also said the Himalayan ranges are host to many glacial lakes, estimated through remote sensing techniques at about 7,500 and of these, Sikkim has around 10 per cent of which nearly 25 are assessed to be at-risk. Giving details of the incident, the NDMA said in the early hours of Wednesday, there was a sudden surge in water flow in the Teesta river, which washed away several bridges, parts of NH-10, the Chungthang Dam and has impacted several small villages, towns and infrastructure projects in the upper reaches of the river valley. The main affected districts are Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi. "While scientists are investigating the exact cause of the flash flood, the primary reason for the sudden surge appears

India to spend $24 mn on Himalayan Airbase near disputed China border

The airbase will add to the capabilities of the Indian Air Force along the northern border, according to a statement after India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Govt asks SC to order 13 Himalayan states for assessing carrying capacity

The Centre has urged the Supreme Court to direct 13 Himalayan states of the country to assess their 'carrying capacity' and proposed setting up of an expert panel to evaluate the action plans submitted by each of them. Carrying capacity is the maximum population size that an ecosystem can sustain without getting degraded. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change filed the affidavit in a PIL by Ashok Kumar Raghav after the top court had on August 21 asked the Centre and the petitioner to discuss and suggest a way forward to enable the court to pass directions on the carrying capacity of Himalayan states and towns. Raghav's plea sought an assessment of the carrying capacity and master plans for the Indian Himalayan Region spanning 13 states and union territories. The ministry told the apex court that it has in the past circulated guidelines for assessing carrying capacity of hill stations including cities and eco-sensitive zones to all 13 Himalayan states by its letter

Rising tourism, illegal construction straining Himalayas: Par panel

The tremendous increase in tourism and illegal construction of hotels and resorts is straining natural resources in the Himalayan region and the government should take urgent action to avert Joshimath-like disasters, a parliamentary panel said on Thursday. In its 135th report tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment Forest and Climate Change also stressed the need for a thorough examination of the illegal structures in the ecologically fragile region in coordination with local authorities and strict action against illegal construction to prevent tragedies akin to the ones experienced in Kedarnath in 2013 and Joshimath earlier this year. "The committee also highlights the tremendous increase of tourist activities in these areas which has put the natural resources under pressure. This has led to over-exploitation of natural resources and illegal construction of home stays, guest houses, resorts, hotels, restaurants and other

CM Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurates U'khand's 1st Himalayan Cultural Center

The CM also honoured filmmakers, cinematographers and singers of the state associated with the film world, the statement informed

Climbers set to celebrate 70 years of Everest summit amid melting glaciers

Melting glaciers and rising number of ascents and casualties cast a shadow

Himalaya Food rebuilding french fries business to add Rs 700 cr in top-line

Himalaya Food International, a player in the frozen and canned food processing segment, is rebuilding and reviving its french fries business, the company's chairman said on Monday. The company is in the process of installation of the 50,000 tonnes per annum french fries line and 12,000 tonnes potato speciality line, which it targets to complete by December 2023 to catch up with the potato season starting March 2024. "These lines have the potential to add Rs 700 crore to the top-line at full capacity," said Himalaya Foods International Ltd (HFIL) chairman Man Mohan Malik in a letter addressing shareholders. HFIL earlier had a joint venture (JV) with Simplot USA. It has a dispute with the JV partner and the matter went to Singapore for arbitration. According to reports, the American JV partner had claimed USD 14 million as refunds against the sale of the french fries line and specialty potato lines. The tribunal has directed Simplot to return the equipments of french fries and potat

Indian Himalayas hub for spiritual seekers, religious practitioners: Report

The Indian Himalayas is a hub for spiritual seekers and religious practitioners, attracting a plethora of religious figures over time