New Delhi: India has signed an agreement to host the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) in its capital, New Delhi. The Headquarters Agreement was signed between S P Yadav, IBCA’s Director General, and P Kumaran, Secretary (East), in India’s Ministry of External Affairs on 17th April 2025.
According to Emirates News Agency, India also announced financial support amounting to rupees 1.5 billion (US$17.5 million) in budgetary assistance to IBCA. This funding is intended for creating a corpus, building infrastructure, and covering recurring expenses until the end of the fiscal year 2028-29.
The International Big Cat Alliance is a coalition involving 95 big cat range countries, non-range countries interested in big cat conservation, conservation partners, scientific organizations focused on big cat research, and business groups committed to conservation efforts. The IBCA officially came into existence on 23rd January of this year.
The seven big cats recognized by the global conservation movement are the Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar, and Puma.