India will host the first Global Big Cat Summit this year, which will see heads of governments and ministers from 95 countries coming together to deliberate on collective strategies for conservation. This is what Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced while presenting the Union Budget 2026–27 in the Lok Sabha.Describing the summit as a major step towards strengthening international cooperation, Sitharaman said it would focus on coordinated action to protect big cats across their natural habitats. “This year, India is hosting the first-ever Global Big Cat Summit, where leaders and ministers from 95 range countries will deliberate on collective strategies for conservation,” she said during her Budget speech.
The initiative is expected to open the door to deeper global collaboration, expanded habitat protection, and a renewed emphasis on sustainable wildlife tourism — developments that could have lasting implications for how, where, and whether big cats survive in the wild.India, home to the largest number of wild tigers in the world, has always taken a leading role in the conservation of big cats, and has always been proactive in implementing schemes like Project Tiger, and the recent reintroduction of cheetahs. The budget announcement is in line with the country’s agenda for conservation at a time when habitat destruction, climate change, and human-wildlife conflict threaten the existence of big cats.Read more: ‘I am leaving America’: IT professional shares why despite having a successful career she is forced to quit USThe move also builds on India’s growing role in global wildlife conservation. Sitharaman highlighted the International Big Cat Alliance, which was established last year, and aims at fostering cooperation among countries that are home to species such as tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards, cheetahs, and jaguars. The proposed summit is expected to provide a platform for aligning conservation policies, sharing best practices, and mobilising international resources.
Beyond wildlife diplomacy, the Union Budget outlined several tourism and conservation-linked initiatives. The government announced plans to develop ecologically sustainable mountain trails in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in the Araku Valley of the Eastern Ghats and parts of the Western Ghats. Key turtle nesting sites in Odisha, Karnataka, and Kerala will also be developed into conservation-linked eco-tourism trails. The budget further stressed on creating thematic tourism circuits, including bird-watching trails at Pulicat Lake in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, along with the development of 15 archaeological sites, such as Lothal, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, Adichanallur, Sarnath, Hastinapur, and Leh Palace, into experiential destinations that integrate heritage conservation with visitor engagement. Read more: Delhi wakes up to dense fog; flight operations disrupted, airport and airlines issue advisoryTo strengthen spiritual tourism, a new Buddhist circuit scheme in the North-East, which will be covering Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura, was also announced. The initiative will focus on preserving monasteries and temples, thereby improving connectivity, and creating pilgrimage interpretation centres and amenities.Skill development in tourism also received attention, wherein there is a proposal to train around 10,000 tour guides across 20 major destinations under a pilot programme, in collaboration with the Indian Institutes of Management.
