India and the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) today signed the Headquarters Agreement in New Delhi today. The Agreement was signed by External Affairs Secretary (East) P Kumaran and Director General, IBCA, Dr S.P. Yadav. The Agreement provides for India to be the host for the IBCA Headquarters and Secretariat. Under the agreement, the government will provide budgetary support of 150 crore rupees to IBCA for creating a corpus, building infrastructure, and meeting recurring expenditure for five years.
The agreement also entails necessary provisions to enable IBCA to meet its intended objectives, including efficient discharge of its official functions. The text pertains to visas, privileges, and immunities to be extended to the IBCA Secretariat and personnel, premises, entry into force, supplementary agreements, and some general provisions.
The International Big Cat Alliance was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023, during an event “Commemorating 50 years of Project Tiger” at Mysuru. The IBCA primarily aims for the conservation of seven big cats, namely Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar and Puma.
