On World Wildlife Day (March 3), PM Modi highlighted India's conservation milestones, including over 800 tigers added in a decade, bringing the population to more than 3,600. India now hosts 58 tiger reserves under Project Tiger, 34 elephant reserves under Project Elephant, and ranks among the few nations where major wildlife populations are growing. The day, designated by the UN in 2013, commemorates CITES signing in 1973.

World Wildlife Day is observed on March 3 every year — the date on which the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was adopted in 1973. The UN General Assembly designated this observance in December 2013 (Resolution 68/205). The nodal ministry for wildlife conservation in India is the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

India's wildlife conservation architecture rests on several pillars. Project Tiger, launched in 1973, is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The latest tiger census (2022) counted 3,682 tigers — approximately 75% of the global wild tiger population — making India the country with the largest tiger population in the world. There are currently 58 tiger reserves spanning roughly 78,135 sq km.

Project Elephant was launched in 1992 and covers 34 elephant reserves. India also has a robust network of protected areas: 106 national parks, 573 wildlife sanctuaries, 97 conservation reserves, and 127 community reserves (numbers vary slightly by latest MoEFCC notification).

The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 provides the legal backbone, classifying species into six schedules (amended to four schedules post-2022 amendment). CITES regulates cross-border trade in endangered species through three appendices: Appendix I (trade prohibited), Appendix II (regulated trade), and Appendix III (country-specific protection). India is a CITES signatory and the COP19 of CITES was held in Panama in 2022.