Bhupender Yadav Highlights Growth in Tiger Population and Reserves

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Thursday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for a significant rise in India’s tiger population and the expansion of the country’s tiger reserve network over the past 12 years. The statement, issued by the Press Information Bureau, marked the completion of more than a decade since Modi assumed office in 2014 (PIB).

Yadav described the growth in both the number of big cats and the protected areas designated for their conservation as "remarkable," attributing the trajectory directly to the Prime Minister’s "visionary leadership." The ministry’s release framed the period since 2014 as a distinct phase of achievement in wildlife conservation, linking the expansion of the reserve network and population recovery to policy decisions taken at the highest level of government (PIB).

The announcement serves as the government’s official stock-taking of Project Tiger’s progress during the current administration’s tenure. India conducts a quadrennial tiger estimation exercise, the most recent cycle of which reported a population exceeding 3,600 individuals, accounting for the majority of the world’s wild tigers. The network of tiger reserves has also grown to over 50 sites spread across 18 states, covering a substantial portion of the species’ historical range. Thursday’s statement did not cite a new census figure but presented the cumulative 12-year trend as a validation of the Centre’s conservation strategy (PIB).