The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards (TNNAA) 2024 on September 2, 2026. This award stands as India’s highest national recognition for outstanding achievement in adventure sports, honouring individuals who have shown exceptional courage, endurance, and leadership across land, water, and air-based adventure activities.
For this year’s edition, the Government has approved four awardees across three categories: Ms. Baljeet Kaur and Shri Skalzang Rigzin for Land Adventure, Shri Rimo Saha for Water Adventure, and Shri Shiv Prasad Chamoli for Lifetime Achievement. No award was conferred in the Air Adventure category this year. The National Selection Committee evaluated all nominations before recommending these four individuals for the national honour.
The President of India will confer the awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan, alongside the National Sports Awards 2025, though the Ministry has not yet announced the exact ceremony date.
Quick Facts: Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards 2024
- Announced by: Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India
- Announcement date: September 2, 2026
- Award year: 2024
- Total awardees this year: 4
- Land Adventure awardees: Ms. Baljeet Kaur, Shri Skalzang Rigzin
- Water Adventure awardee: Shri Rimo Saha
- Lifetime Achievement awardee: Shri Shiv Prasad Chamoli
- Air Adventure: No award conferred this year
- Selected by: National Selection Committee
- Award ceremony: To be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, alongside National Sports Awards 2025 (date to be announced)
- Award components: Bronze statuette, certificate, ₹15 lakh cash award
- Status: Considered equivalent to the Arjuna Award in sporting prestige
What Is the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award?
The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award ranks as India’s highest honour specifically dedicated to adventure sports. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports presents it annually to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in adventure activities conducted on land, at sea, or in the air.
The award takes its name from Tenzing Norgay, the Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer who, alongside Sir Edmund Hillary, became one of the first two people to summit Mount Everest in 1953. Although the award was originally introduced in 1994 under the name National Adventure Awards, the Ministry renamed it in 2003 to honour Tenzing Norgay specifically, coinciding with the golden jubilee of his historic Everest climb.
Meet the TNNAA 2024 Awardees
This year’s list includes four honourees, selected by the National Selection Committee after evaluating nominations across the award’s usual categories. Notably, the committee named two awardees within the Land Adventure category this year, while choosing not to confer an award in the Air Adventure category at all.
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards 2024: Full Winners List
| S. No. | Name | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ms. Baljeet Kaur | Land Adventure |
| 2 | Shri Skalzang Rigzin | Land Adventure |
| 3 | Shri Rimo Saha | Water Adventure |
| 4 | Shri Shiv Prasad Chamoli | Lifetime Achievement |
Each of these four awardees will receive the award’s standard components: a bronze statuette, a formal certificate, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh. The President of India will confer these honours at Rashtrapati Bhavan, presenting them alongside the National Sports Awards 2025 in a joint ceremony. The Ministry has indicated that it will announce the exact ceremony date separately.
Award Categories and Selection Process
The Ministry typically confers one award in each of four categories, covering the full range of adventure disciplines recognised under the scheme. In select years, however, the Ministry has increased the number of awardees within a category, subject to ministerial approval.
The four standard categories are:
- Land Adventure — primarily awarded for mountaineering and related overland expeditions
- Water (Sea) Adventure — covering disciplines such as open-water swimming and sailing
- Air Adventure — recognising achievements in skydiving and related aerial pursuits
- Lifetime Achievement — honouring individuals who have devoted themselves to promoting adventure sports over an extended career, beyond a single outstanding feat
For the first three categories, a five-member selection committee evaluates each nominee’s achievements over the preceding three calendar years. Nominations for TNNAA 2024, for instance, considered performances from 2022 through 2024. Recognised national bodies play a role in this verification process too: the Indian Mountaineering Foundation reviews Land Adventure nominations, the National Institute of Water Sports handles Water Adventure claims, and the Aero Club of India verifies Air Adventure achievements, before the committee finalises its recommendations for ministerial approval.
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award: Key Facts at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Year first awarded | 1994 |
| Renamed after Tenzing Norgay | 2003 |
| Standard categories | 4 (Land, Water, Air, Lifetime Achievement) |
| Consideration period for nominees | Preceding 3 calendar years |
| Cash prize per award | ₹15 lakh |
| Verifying bodies | Indian Mountaineering Foundation, National Institute of Water Sports, Aero Club of India |
| Typical presentation venue | Rashtrapati Bhavan |
How the Award Ceremony Usually Unfolds
Since 2004, the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award has typically been presented alongside India’s other major National Sports Awards, including the Khel Ratna, Arjuna, and Dronacharya Awards, at a single presidential ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The President of India personally confers the awards during this event, which has traditionally taken place around late August, though exact scheduling has varied across recent years.
Each awardee receives a bronze statuette of Tenzing Norgay, a formal certificate, a ceremonial blazer paired with a silken tie or saree, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh. Together, these components reflect the award’s stature as the adventure-sports equivalent of the Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest sporting honour.
A Look at the Award’s Recent History
In recent years, this award has recognised a wide range of remarkable achievements. The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2023, for example, honoured recipients across all four categories: a Land Adventure award for a high-altitude flag-bearing mountaineering feat completed despite physical disability, a Water Adventure award for a swimmer who completed several of the world’s toughest open-water channel crossings, an Air Adventure award for record-setting high-altitude skydiving achievements, and a Lifetime Achievement award recognising decades of contribution to Indian mountaineering.
This pattern reflects the award’s broader purpose: celebrating individual excellence across very different adventure disciplines, while also using the Lifetime Achievement category to recognise sustained contribution to the adventure sports community as a whole.
Why This Recognition Matters
Adventure sports rarely receive the same mainstream attention as competitive team sports or Olympic disciplines in India, even though achievements in mountaineering, open-water swimming, sailing, and skydiving often demand comparable levels of dedication, risk tolerance, and physical endurance. The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award exists specifically to close this recognition gap.
By granting these awards the same institutional weight as the Arjuna Award, and presenting them through the same presidential ceremony as India’s other national sporting honours, the government sends a clear message: achievement in adventure sports deserves recognition on equal footing with mainstream athletic accomplishment. This, in turn, aims to inspire more young Indians to pursue adventure activities, while also acknowledging the risk and commitment such pursuits genuinely require.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
About the Award and This Announcement
The Ministry announced the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards (TNNAA) 2024, India’s highest honour for achievement in adventure sports, on September 2, 2026.
It is India’s highest national recognition for outstanding achievement in adventure activities on land, water, and in the air, presented annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Tenzing Norgay was a Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer who, along with Sir Edmund Hillary, became one of the first two people to summit Mount Everest in 1953. The award was renamed in his honour in 2003, marking the golden jubilee of that historic climb.
The award typically covers four categories: Land Adventure, Water (Sea) Adventure, Air Adventure, and Lifetime Achievement.
Each awardee receives a bronze statuette of Tenzing Norgay, a certificate, a ceremonial blazer with a silken tie or saree, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh.
Selection Process and Broader Context
A five-member selection committee evaluates nominees based on their achievements over the preceding three calendar years, with verification support from bodies such as the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, the National Institute of Water Sports, and the Aero Club of India.
It was first introduced in 1994 under the name National Adventure Awards, before being renamed after Tenzing Norgay in 2003.
Since 2004, the award has typically been presented at a presidential ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, alongside India’s other major National Sports Awards.
The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award is considered equivalent in stature to the Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest honour in the field of sports.
Recent recipients have included mountaineers, open-water swimmers who completed major international channel crossings, record-setting skydivers, and individuals recognised for lifetime contributions to Indian mountaineering and adventure sports promotion.
Four awardees received the honour this year: Ms. Baljeet Kaur and Shri Skalzang Rigzin for Land Adventure, Shri Rimo Saha for Water Adventure, and Shri Shiv Prasad Chamoli for Lifetime Achievement. No award was conferred in the Air Adventure category this year.
The President of India will confer the awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan, presenting them alongside the National Sports Awards 2025. The Ministry has not yet announced the specific ceremony date.
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