Financial Assistance for Scaling Mount Everest and Other Inaccessible Mountains of the World

What is the Mount Everest financial assistance scheme?

Financial Assistance for Scaling Mount Everest and Other Inaccessible Mountains of the World is a scheme of the Adventure Branch (Sahas Shakha) of the Commissionerate of Youth Services and Cultural Activities, which works under the Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department, Government of Gujarat. In Gujarati the scheme is listed as Mount Everest sar karnarane sahay; assistance to those who conquer Mount Everest.

According to the Commissionerate's adventure branch scheme page, the state gives a minimum of Rs 15 lakh per adventurer to native Gujaratis within an age limit of 45 years who attempt Mount Everest, described on the page as the 8,848-metre (29,028-foot) peak on the Nepal-Tibet border. For other leading peaks of the world, the Commissionerate sanctions assistance ranging from Rs 0.50 lakh to Rs 10.00 lakh, fixed according to the height and the complexity of the peak being attempted.

This is one of the largest per-person grants any Indian state gives an individual adventurer, and the reason is simple arithmetic: a permitted Everest attempt from the Nepal side costs several times the annual income of most Gujarati climbers, and without state support the sport stays closed to all but the wealthy.

Which department runs it, and what else does the adventure branch fund?

The Adventure Branch runs twelve schemes in all, and it helps to see this one in context. The branch's published list includes:

• The State Mountaineering Award, a cash prize of Rs 25,000 with a memento and certificate for a Gujarati climber who has summited a peak of 7,000 metres or more once, or a peak above 6,000 metres twice.
• This scheme, assistance for Everest and other world peaks.
• Financial assistance for land, mountain and sea adventure sports for Gujaratis up to 45 years of age, covering training fees, equipment, transport, insurance and incidental costs for camps, workshops, expeditions and competitions inside or outside Gujarat.
• Assistance for special expeditions and explorations not covered by any other government scheme: up to Rs 5.00 lakh per person, and up to Rs 10.00 lakh in special cases; institutional or joint expeditions held with government support are sanctioned at Rs 5.00 lakh per member.
• Renovation and modernisation of the state's mountaineering institutes, specifically the centres at Mount Abu and Junagadh.
• A national rock climbing course on the difficult slopes of Girnar, run in batches of 35, a maximum of 30 trainees aged 18 to 45, one instructor, one camp in-charge and three subject experts.
• New mountaineering centres and sub-centres in four districts, Chhotaudepur, Rajkot, Navsari and Dang.
• Honorarium for honorary instructors at the Mount Abu and Junagadh centres, set at Rs 600 per day under the latest resolution passed in 2026.
• Insurance for about 11,700 adventurers under the Gujarat Group Janata Accident Insurance Scheme, giving Rs 4.00 lakh cover per beneficiary, administered by the Director of Insurance, Gandhinagar.
• Himalayan trekking organised each year by the Swami Vivekanand Mountaineering Institute, Mount Abu, with 10 selected participants.
• The Gujarat hilly area trekking programme. A 10-day trek in the Girnar hills run by the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Mountaineering Training Centre, Junagadh, for 30 beneficiaries, fully funded by the state, open to men and women aged 18 to 45 who have passed Class 10 and completed a basic mountaineering course.

That last set of qualifications; age 18 to 45, Class 10 pass, basic mountaineering course completed — is the ladder a Gujarati climber usually walks up before an Everest proposal is credible.

Who is eligible for the Everest assistance?

You can apply if:

• You are a native resident of Gujarat, evidenced by a domicile or native certificate.
• You are within the age limit of 45 years, the limit stated for this scheme.
• You are attempting Mount Everest, or another leading peak of the world for which the Rs 0.50 lakh to Rs 10.00 lakh band applies.
• You hold mountaineering training certificates and a record of earlier climbs that make the attempt realistic.
• You are medically fit for high altitude.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not a native of Gujarat. Residence elsewhere disqualifies the proposal however strong the climbing record.
• You are over 45.
• You want a cash award for a climb already completed, that is the separate State Mountaineering Award of Rs 25,000, applied for on its own form in duplicate.
• You are seeking funding for a trek or an adventure activity that is not a major peak attempt. Those fall under the branch's separate adventure sports and special expedition schemes.

What documents are required?

How to apply for financial assistance for an Everest expedition

1. Read the Adventure Branch scheme list on the Commissionerate's site at commi-synca.gujarat.gov.in, and confirm which of the twelve schemes fits your plan; Everest and world peaks, adventure sports, or special expedition.
2. Build the expedition proposal: peak, height, route, dates, the organising agency, the team, and an itemised budget covering permit, agency, travel, equipment, oxygen, insurance and contingency.
3. Assemble the document set listed above, with the native certificate, age proof, training certificates, climbing record and medical fitness certificate attested.
4. Submit the application and proposal to the Commissioner, Youth Services and Cultural Activities, Block 11, 3rd Floor, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Sector 10-B, Gandhinagar 382010. Telephone 079-23254095 or write to commi-synca[at]gujarat[dot]gov[dot]in before posting, to confirm the number of copies and the current form.
5. Keep the inward acknowledgement and follow up with the Adventure Branch; the sanction for peaks other than Everest is decided on the height and complexity you have documented, so a clearly written proposal directly affects the amount.
6. After sanction, submit accounts and the expedition report as instructed, state grants of this size are settled against utilisation, and a clean settlement matters if you apply again for another peak.

How do I check my application status?

There is no online tracking for this scheme. Quote the inward number from your acknowledgement to the Adventure Branch at the Commissionerate on 079-23254095. Because expedition sanctions are time-critical, follow up in writing as well as by telephone, and copy the Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department at Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar, if a decision is delayed close to your climbing window.

Common reasons a proposal fails

• No native certificate of Gujarat, or a residence certificate offered in its place.
• Age over 45 on the date of application.
• A budget without itemisation. The amount for non-Everest peaks is fixed on height and complexity, and a lump-sum figure gives the committee nothing to work with.
• Thin climbing record, no basic or advanced course, or no documented previous summits.
• Applying too late for the season, leaving no time for sanction and release before the permit window.

Key dates

No fixed annual last date is published for this scheme. Proposals are considered ahead of the expedition, so the practical deadline is set by the climbing season, for Everest, the pre-monsoon window in April and May, which means applying months in advance. The related State Mountaineering Award is applied for separately, on the prescribed form in duplicate, when the department invites applications.

Help and grievance

• Commissioner, Youth Services and Cultural Activities, Block 11, 3rd Floor, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Sector 10-B, Gandhinagar 382010 to telephone 079-23254095, email commi-synca[at]gujarat[dot]gov[dot]in.
• Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department, Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar, for escalation.
• Swami Vivekanand Mountaineering Institute, Mount Abu and the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Mountaineering Training Centre, Junagadh, for training and for the trekking programmes that build the record this scheme expects.