National Cadet Corps has planned an expedition to the Mt Everest -- the world's highest peak -- later this year and a team is currently preparing for it at Siachen Battle School, the body's top official said on Friday.

"We have got 16... eight boys and eight girls, and thereafter from among them the summiters are going to be selected," NCC Director General Lt Gen Gurbirpal Singh told PTI on the sidelines of a press briefing here.

He interacted with reporters about the ongoing NCC Republic Day Camp at Delhi Cantonment and the future roadmap of the Corps.

The NCC chief also shared some powerpoint slides detailing the journey of the Corps over the last one year.

One of the slides were related to some of the mountaineering expeditions undertaken by the NCC cadets in the past, including to "Mt Kang Yatse II (6,250m) -- team of 24 cadets" and "Mt Abi Gamin (7,335m) -- team of 34 cadets." The DG later told PTI the NCC had earlier undertaken an expedition to Mt Everest (8,848m).

"We started preparing for last one year. As we speak, our team is in Siachen Battle School, preparing. We have got 16, eight boys and eight girls, and thereafter from among them the summiters are going to be selected," he said.

Mt Everest was first conquered by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay in 1953, and has ever since fascinated climbers and mountaineers to scale the famed peak in the mighty Himalayas.

A mountaineering expedition team was welcomed by Lt Gen Singh in October 2024 in Delhi after their triumphant expedition to Mt Abi Gamin, the defence ministry had earlier said.

The peak, situated in the Garhwal Himalayas at an elevation of 7,355m, served as a crucial preparatory phase for the NCC's upcoming mission to conquer the Mt Everest in 2025, it said.

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