Project Tiger and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)
Project Tiger was launched on April 1, 1973 from Jim Corbett National Park by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in response to a dramatic decline in India's tiger population — from an estimated 40,000 at the turn of the 20th century to just 1,827 by 1972. It established a network of protected tiger reserves with core (critical tiger habitat) and buffer zones. In 2006, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was established under an amendment to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, to administer tiger reserves as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. India now has 58 tiger reserves across 18 states. The 2022 tiger census placed India's wild tiger population at 3,682 — nearly 75 percent of the world's wild tiger population.
- Launched: April 1, 1973 from Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand
- Initial reserves: 9 (9,115 sq km); current reserves: 58 tiger reserves across 18 states
- Current wild tiger population: 3,682 (2022 census) — ~75% of world's wild tigers
- NTCA established: 2006, under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
- Tiger reserve structure: Core (Critical Tiger Habitat) + Buffer (mixed use) zones
- Madhya Pradesh: largest tiger population (~785 tigers as per 2022 census), highest number of reserves
- Tiger deaths in 2025: 166 total; Madhya Pradesh: 55 (highest); Uttarakhand: 19 (second highest)
● Tracked since April 05, 2026 · last seen July 29, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes