During his keynote address, Sikyong Penpa Tsering expressed deep gratitude to both the Central and State Governments of India for their unwavering support and continued solidarity with the Tibetan people, as well as the Core Group for the Tibetan Cause.

The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA), in the Institutional Category, and Lieutenant Colonel Seeta Ashok Shelke, in the individual Category, have been selected for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2026 for their excellent work in Disaster Management.

Perched at over 14,500 feet, Langza Spiti's widely known as the “Fossil Village” due to the abundant marine fossils found in its surrounding areas dating back millions of years are abundant in the area, offering a glimpse into a time when the Himalayas were formed.

The Governor added that while unity in diversity is India’s strength, it is equally important to preserve and promote the individual cultures, languages and traditions of one’s home state. “These values must be passed on to future generations to ensure the preservation of our rich cultural legacy,” he said.

Further Central Government had approved a number of mitigation projects with overall financial outlay of Rs 7253.51 crore, for mitigating the risks of a number of hazards in the areas of Urban Floods (Rs. 3075.65 crore), Landslides (Rs.1000 crore), GLOF (Rs. 150 crore), Forest Fire (Rs. 818.92 crore), Lightening (Rs. 186.78 crore) and Drought (Rs. 2022.16 crore).

He said that State Government would also urge the Central Government to establish Himachal Scouts Battalion on the analogy of Sikkim, Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh with a special quota for local persons from the bordering areas of the State. He said that this was a long pending demand of the people of the border areas.

Terming the budget “inequitable”, he highlighted several key areas of concern and called for immediate revisions to address the needs of the wider population of the State.

The Prime Minister said that today projects worth Rs 40,000 crores are seeing the light of day and recalled initiating the Amrit Bharat Station project a few months ago where work to modernize 500 railway stations in the country had begun. He underlined that today’s event takes this resolve even further and provides a glimpse of India’s pace of progress. Prime Minister Modi congratulated the citizens of India for the railway projects of today.

Upon deplaning at the Kangra Airport, Dalai Lama was received by Sikyong Penpa Tsering, Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang, Dharamshala Tibetan Settlement Officer Kunchok Migmar, and other representatives from various Tibetan NGOs based in Dharamshala. Meanwhile, hundreds of Tibetans and local people lined the streets from the airport to His Holiness’ residence, holding ceremonial white scarves and incense to receive the Tibetan spiritual leader.

The Defence Public Relations Officer (PRO) Guwahati informed about the incident on X and posted, "23 army personnel have been reported missing due to a flash flood that occurred in Teesta River in Lachen Valley after a sudden cloud burst over Lhonak Lake