In what year did India launch Project Tiger?

India launched Project Tiger in 1973.

The programme began on 1 April 1973 as a centrally sponsored conservation scheme of the Government of India. It was introduced after steep declines in tiger numbers caused by hunting, habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s government established the programme to protect tigers while conserving representative ecosystems.

Project Tiger initially covered nine tiger reserves spanning more than 18,000 square kilometres. Its approach emphasized protected habitat, anti-poaching work, control of human pressures and scientific monitoring rather than treating tiger protection as a matter of preserving animals alone.

The programme later evolved under the National Tiger Conservation Authority, created through amendments to India’s wildlife law in 2006. A common mix-up is confusing Project Tiger’s launch year with later milestones, such as the creation of the NTCA or the programme’s 50th anniversary in 2023.