Project Tiger and NTCA

India’s tigers had fallen to under 1,900 by the early 1970s. A 2004 scandal, where an entire reserve’s tigers turned out to be gone, forced the government to give conservation real legal teeth. Project Tiger and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) are the result.

MCQ Questions

EnvEco0038

Project Tiger: From 9 Reserves to Statutory Teeth

A 1973 habitat scheme that only got real legal power after a 2004 scandal exposed its limits.

1973

Project Tiger launches

Begins with 9 tiger reserves, as tiger numbers fall to around 1,827.

2004-05

The Sariska crisis

All tigers found gone from Sariska Tiger Reserve, killed by poachers since 2002.

2006

NTCA becomes statutory

An amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 creates the NTCA, with real legal power.

2022

Tigers reach 3,682

India’s count reaches its highest yet, about 75% of the world’s wild tiger population.

The pattern: Project Tiger began as a habitat-protection scheme, run departmentally. It only became a fully accountable statutory body once Sariska exposed a real gap. Reserves existed on paper, but their tigers no longer existed on the ground.

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Must Know

• Project Tiger was launched on 1 April 1973, by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It began with 9 tiger reserves.
• India’s tiger population had fallen to around 1,827 by the early 1970s, from an estimated 40,000 at the end of the 19th century.
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was created in 2006, through an amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It gave Project Tiger a statutory body to administer it.
• The NTCA was set up on the recommendation of the Tiger Task Force. This task force was formed after tigers were found completely wiped out at Sariska Tiger Reserve in 2004-05.
• India now has 58 tiger reserves, covering nearly 2.3% of the country’s land area.
• India’s wild tiger population reached 3,682 in the 2022 All India Tiger Estimation. That is about 75% of the world’s wild tiger population.

Good to Know

• Each tiger reserve has a core area, called a Critical Tiger Habitat, and a buffer zone, under the 2006 amendment’s framework.
• The All India Tiger Estimation is conducted once every four years. It uses camera traps, field surveys, and habitat assessment.
• The Sariska crisis was uncovered in December 2004. A CBI probe found that poachers had killed all its tigers since 2002.
• The Tiger Task Force, chaired by Sunita Narain, submitted its report, “Joining The Dots,” in 2005. It recommended a statutory NTCA, and a separate Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
• See EnvEco0014 — Wildlife in India for the broader conservation landscape Project Tiger and NTCA operate within. See EnvEco0039 — National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) for the general development-clearance body that governs protected areas beyond tiger reserves.
• See IndGeo0118 — Namdapha National Park for one specific reserve, India’s 15th under this programme. It is also the only protected area on Earth confirmed to hold all four big cats together.

Test Yourself

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1. In what year was Project Tiger launched, and how many tiger reserves did it begin with?

1980, with 15 reserves

1966, with 5 reserves

1973, with 9 reserves

1997, with 23 reserves

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Great to Know

• Project Tiger began as a habitat-protection scheme, run departmentally. It only became a fully accountable statutory body once Sariska exposed a real gap. Reserves existed on paper, but their tigers no longer existed on the ground.
• India’s tiger recovery went from under 1,900 tigers in the early 1970s to over 3,600 by 2022. It’s often cited as one of the world’s most successful large-carnivore conservation programmes.
• Because India holds about three-quarters of the world’s wild tigers, its own conservation choices largely determine the species’ global survival prospects, not just India’s own.
• Project Tiger’s first Director, Kailash Sankhala, shaped the programme’s early field-research approach. See EnvEco0041 — Kailash Sankhala: The Tiger Man of India.

Current Affairs

• On 28 July 2026, ahead of International Tiger Day, PIB highlighted India’s global share. India is now home to nearly 70% of the world’s wild tigers, out of roughly 5,711 wild tigers worldwide. (Source: PIB)
• Project Tiger’s reserve network covers about 84,500 square kilometres. That’s around 2.56% of India’s total geographical area, per the NTCA’s 2023 report. (Source: PIB)
• India helped found the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), a 95-country coalition covering all seven big cats. The Cabinet approved it on 12 March 2024, with its Secretariat headquartered in India. (Source: PIB)
• India also hosts the Global Tiger Forum (GTF), in New Delhi. It’s the world’s only intergovernmental organisation dedicated solely to tiger conservation, and brings together 13 tiger-range countries. (Source: PIB)
• Tiger monitoring now uses M-STrIPES, a GPS-based field tracking platform. AI tools like CaTRAT and ExtractCompare classify camera-trap images, and identify individual tigers by their stripe patterns. (Source: PIB)
• UPSC CSP 2017, Q80 asked what 'M-STrIPES' refers to. The correct answer is maintenance of Tiger Reserves — M-STrIPES is the monitoring system described above, not captive breeding, satellite navigation, or highway security. See UPSC CSP 2017 GS Paper I, Q80.
• Under the Management Effectiveness Evaluation, 51 tiger reserves had been assessed by 2022. Twelve scored “Excellent,” and the average management score reached 78%. (Source: PIB)
• 23 Indian tiger reserves have earned global Conservation Assured|Tiger Standards (CA|TS) accreditation, a certification for effective tiger-area management. (Source: PIB)
• 9 July 2026: Union Minister Bhupender Yadav chaired the 29th Meeting of the NTCA, at Coimbatore. The Authority released two new publications. “Roadmap to Rescue” is a framework for rescuing and rehabilitating wild animals in tiger landscapes. “STRIDES 2026” is a status report on tiger reserve infrastructure and ecology. The meeting also approved the NTCA’s Annual Report for 2024-25. (Source: PIB)
• 9 July 2026: The same meeting deliberated on launching the 6th Cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation, an assessment of how well tiger reserves are managed. It also considered proposals for a national “Tiger Conclave,” to raise funds from corporate and philanthropic partners, and a research symposium called STRIPES. (Source: PIB)
• On 28 June 2026, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav inaugurated a National Workshop on “Tiger Re-introduction: Opportunities & Challenges,” at Alwar, Rajasthan. The event marked 18 years since tiger reintroduction began at Sariska Tiger Reserve. (Source: PIB)
• Sariska has recovered from zero tigers, after a 2004-05 poaching crisis, to 56 tigers today. NTCA organised the workshop, together with the Rajasthan government. (Source: PIB)
• Yadav released three publications: a Road Map on Active Management of Tigers in India, a Booklet on Reintroduction and Recovery of Tigers in India, and the Annual Report of Project Cheetah. (Source: PIB)
• The workshop brought together 12 Chief Wildlife Wardens and 18 Field Directors. Case studies came from reserves including Sariska, Panna, Satkosia, and Simlipal. (Source: PIB)
• It also included a session on Project Cheetah, billed as the world’s first inter-continental large-carnivore reintroduction. Participants later visited Sariska, to review its habitat management. (Source: PIB)