Rajnath Singh launches ‘Soul of Steel’ Alpine Challenge

Tags: Defence National News

To promote tourism in border areas, the defence minister Rajnath Singh launched the “Soul of Steel" Alpine Challenge on 14 January.

An overview of the news

• Rajnath Singh also flagged off the 460 km long car rally 'Road to the End', a joint operation by the Indian Army and CLAW.

• The rally will reach its destination in the Garhwal Himalayas near Niti village in Chamoli district in the next three days.

• A team of Indian Special Forces veterans with multiple expertise in CLAW, mountaineering, skydiving, SCUBA diving, unarmed combat, multi-terrain survival techniques and emergency medical response will lead the challenge.

About ‘Soul of Steel’ challenge

• It will test the high altitude endurance of an individual and will initially feature 12 Indian participants and six international teams between the ages of 18 and 30.

• This challenge will run for three months.

• It is being organised by CLAW Global, a conglomerate of giants.

• The Indian Army is supporting the adventure challenge.

• It is modelled on the lines of the 'Ironman Triathlon', a long distance triathlon held in Europe that tests a person's physical abilities.

• The initiative aims to enable life skills training and youth development.

• This is also expected to give a boost to the global promotion of adventure tourism in Uttarakhand.