Global Big Cat Summit in June to boost corporate funding for conservation

New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav said on Monday that India will host the First International Big Cat Summit, on June 1 and 2, in New Delhi, inviting the industry to play an active part in big cat conservation.

The Minister was speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conference on ‘Future of the Global Economy, Industry and Society, and the Vision for India@100’.

Yadav said that IBCA is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to protect the world’s seven big cats — tiger, lion, cheetah, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar and puma.

He urged industry leaders to support global big cat conservation efforts through corporate funding and partnerships.

Highlighting the role of industry in conservation, the Minister said, “Corporate funding is essential to support critical areas of big cat conservation such as habitat restoration, technology driven monitoring and surveillance, community-based conservation, capacity building, and conservation awareness.”

Yadav urged everyone to come forward to save the big cats. “In saving their future, we are also saving our own because as apex predators and ‘umbrella species’, the big cats maintain ecological balance, protecting vast landscapes, biodiversity, and water resources,” he said.

The Minister also noted that CII already has an MoU with IBCA.

Speaking on India’s growth trajectory and the vision for India@100, Yadav said the world is witnessing a “change of era” driven by Artificial Intelligence, green technologies, digital economies, geopolitical shifts and climate challenges. “In many ways, this is not merely an era of change; it is a change of era,” he said.

The Minister said India is uniquely positioned to emerge as a global leader by combining innovation with resilience, economic growth with sustainability, and development with social inclusion.

He noted that India has emerged as the world’s fastest-growing major economy and is helping shape global change through renewable energy expansion, digital public infrastructure, startup growth and manufacturing.

Yadav informed that India now stands third globally in renewable energy installed capacity and that the country’s cumulative solar capacity has reached 150 gigawatts as of March 2026, up from 2.82 GW in 2014.

He said around 50 per cent of India’s installed electricity capacity now comes from non-fossil fuel sources, a target achieved ahead of the 2030 timeline.

The Minister also said India reduced the emissions intensity of its GDP by 36 per cent between 2005 and 2020 and recently released its first Biennial Transparency Report under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement framework.

–IANS

rch/rad