Pariksha SaathiInternational Big Cat Alliance Moves Into New Headquarters at 55 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav opened the new office of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) at 55 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi, on 12 October 2026, which is now the address of the alliance's headquarters. IBCA's Director General, S. P. Yadav, briefed guests on its work. Heads of other India-backed international bodies — the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the Global Biofuels Alliance — attended, along with representatives of UN agencies, the World Bank, ADB, IUCN, WWF and FAO. IBCA is a treaty-based intergovernmental organisation, hosted by India, that works for the conservation of seven big cats: the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma. According to the ministry, 29 countries including India are now members, 5 have chosen observer status and 11 more have consented to join. India has committed ₹150 crore over five years, from 2023-24 to 2027-28. In roughly two and a half years, the alliance has run two ITEC capacity-building courses for foreign participants, a big-cat health programme for veterinarians from 20 countries, and taken part in meetings such as CITES and UNFCCC conferences.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the International Big Cat Alliance at Mysuru, Karnataka, on 9 April 2023, during the event marking 50 years of Project Tiger, which India began in 1973. The alliance covers seven big cat species and is open to the countries where these cats naturally occur (range countries) as well as other interested nations.
Reference: 'About IBCA' page on the alliance's official website
Check yourself: of the seven big cats covered by IBCA, which two are not found in the wild in India?
The jaguar and the puma, both native to the Americas. The cheetah, extinct in India for decades, was reintroduced in 2022 under Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park.
Revision task: list the India-hosted international alliances named in this release (IBCA, ISA, CDRI, GBA) and write one line on the purpose of each.
Test yourself
For how many big cat species does the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), whose new headquarters opened at 55 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi, work on conservation?
Show the answer
Answer: Seven
IBCA is a treaty-based intergovernmental organisation hosted by India for the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar and puma; 29 countries are members, and India has committed ₹150 crore over 2023-24 to 2027-28.
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