
Environment minister Bhupendra Yadav calls for a collective action among Big Cat Range countries
The IBCA, a global initiative launched by India in 2024, is a coalition of 95 range countries with a mandate for the conservation of seven big cats, namely tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar, and puma.
On 29 February 2024, the Union cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the establishment of the IBCA, with a one-time budgetary support of ₹ 150 crore for a period of five years from 2023-24 to 2027-28.
'India has emerged as a global leader in wildlife conservation, demonstrating notable successes over the past decade,' Yadav, who chaired the first assembly of the IBCA in New Delhi, said in a press statement.
The assembly, the apex body of the IBCA, was attended by ministerial delegations from nine countries: Bhutan, Cambodia, Eswatini, Guinea, India, Liberia, Suriname, Somalia, and Kazakhstan.
'India stands ready to collaborate with all IBCA members to adapt best models—tailored to local contexts—and to co-develop innovative solutions that secure the future of big cats and their landscapes worldwide,' the minister said on the social media platform X.
The assembly unanimously endorsed Yadav as the president of the IBCA. It also endorsed S.P. Yadav as the director general of the IBCA.
Also, the assembly endorsed the proceedings of the first International Steering Committee meeting of the IBCA, which was held in April 2024, ratified the headquarters agreement signed by the IBCA with India, approved the workplan, rules of procedure of the assembly and the manual of staff and financial regulations of the IBCA. These will serve as the guiding foundation for the effective governance, operations, and collaborative initiatives of the IBCA.
The primary objective of the IBCA is to facilitate collaboration and synergy amongst range countries and other stakeholders, consolidating successful conservation practices and expertise to achieve a common goal of conservation of big cats at the global level.
This unified approach, bolstered by financial support, aims to boost the biodiversity conservation agenda, halt the decline in big cat populations, and conserve our ecology.

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Time of India
20 minutes ago
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India Today
22 minutes ago
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The venue (Nagpur) is the intellectual nerve-centre of the RSS. And the political context was no less significant: the BJP in power for a third consecutive term under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, albeit with fewer seats and greater coalition 2024 Lok Sabha poll campaign had seen an uncharacteristic restraint from the RSS. But now, a year into the government being in place, the Sangh decided to gain control of the narrative along with setting a trajectory for the government as well as the organisation. Its chosen target? The very words Indira had inserted into the Preamble via the 42nd Constitutional Amendment in followed—measured, but pointed. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at a university convocation in Bhubaneswar a few days later. 'What Hosabale-ji said is historically correct. 'Socialist' and 'secular' were introduced during the Emergency, without full democratic debate. It's worth revisiting in today's context.'In Bhopal, Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan argued: 'India has always been secular in spirit—these labels were unnecessary. Our civilisational culture is far more inclusive than these terms can capture.'advertisementBut the government offered no response. No constitutional amendment was proposed. No debate will be initiated in Parliament. The BJP's strategic instinct was restraint. The RSS had floated the idea. The BJP made no move to act on isn't new. The present-day BJP has moved beyond several of the socialist leaders to expand into different geographies and demographies. This helped rid the party some of its untouchability while making it skillful in alliances with socialist parties. The collapse of the Janata Dal meant several of its constituents joining the BJP over the years, aiding the party's expansion in Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana and Bihar, and a bounce-back in Uttar BJP's relationship with the word 'socialism' has always been fraught. When the party was formed in April 1980 in Delhi, it was born from the wreckage of the Janata experiment. Its leaders—Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and Nanaji Deshmukh—chose to name it the Bharatiya Janata Party, not the revived Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Seeking to appeal to a broader middle-class constituency and mindful of India's post-Emergency mood, they adopted 'Gandhian Socialism' as the party's guiding philosophy. Jayaprakash Narayan's portrait was placed beside those of Jana Sangh founders Deendayal Upadhyaya and Syama Prasad the term never sat easy. Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia and many RSS swayamsevaks were openly critical. For them, even Gandhian Socialism smacked of ideological compromise. 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News18
34 minutes ago
- News18
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