On World Wildlife Day 2025, PM Modi highlighted India's conservation milestones, including a tiger population of 3,682 — the highest globally — and the successful reintroduction of cheetahs under Project Cheetah. India hosts over 18% of the world's tiger population across 54 tiger reserves. The government emphasised community-based conservation, expanded protected area networks, and India's commitments under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which World Wildlife Day observes annually on March 3.

World Wildlife Day is observed on March 3 each year — the date CITES was signed in 1973. The UN General Assembly designated it in 2013. It is coordinated by the CITES Secretariat and serves as the principal global platform to celebrate and raise awareness of wild fauna and flora.

India's wildlife governance rests on several statutory and institutional pillars. The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 provides the foundational legal architecture. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is the nodal ministry for both CITES implementation and protected area management. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under MoEFCC administers Project Tiger, launched in 1973.

India's current tiger count of 3,682 (2022 census) makes it home to approximately 75% of global wild tiger populations across 54 designated tiger reserves. Project Cheetah — the reintroduction of African cheetahs at Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh — represents the world's first intercontinental large carnivore translocation.

Conservation categories under IUCN Red List are frequently tested: Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Least Concern. The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. Understanding which species fall under which Schedule of WPA 1972 — Schedule I conferring the highest protection — is also exam-critical.

For NABARD aspirants, the link between wildlife corridors, forest cover (India: 21.76% as per ISFR 2023), and rural livelihood security through ecosystem services is the key conceptual bridge.