The tiger reserves in India were set up as a part of Project Tiger initiated in 1973 and are administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority of Government of India. As of March 2024, there are 55 protected areas that have been designated as tiger reserves. As of 2023, there were 3,682 wild tigers in India, which is almost 75% of the world's wild tiger population.

As per the section 38 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, the state governments are responsible preparing a Tiger Conservation Plan which includes planning and management of notified areas and maintaining the requisite competent staff to ensure the protection of the tiger reserve and providing inputs for maintaining a viable population of tigers, co-predators and prey animals.^[1][2]

In 2006, it was estimated that there were 1,411 tigers living in the wild, the lowest ever recorded.^[3] The 2010 National Tiger Assessment estimated the total population of wild tigers in India at 1,706. As per Ministry of Environment and Forests, the wild tiger population in India stood at 2,226 in 2014 with an increase of 30.5% since the 2010 estimate.^[4] In 2018, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, there were an estimated 2,967 wild tigers in existence in India. The wild tiger population increased to 3,682 as of 2022.^[5] As India is home to majority of the global wild tiger population, the increase in population of tigers in India played a major role in driving up global populations as well; the number of wild tigers globally rose from 3,159 in 2010 to 3,890 in 2016 according to World Wildlife Fund and Global Tiger Forum.^[6]

Tiger reserves were set up as a part of Project Tiger initiated in 1973 and are administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority of Government of India. Tiger reserves consist of a core area which includes part(s) of protected areas such as a national park or a wildlife sanctuary and a buffer zone which is a mix of forested and non-forested land. Project tiger is aimed at performing the necessary activities to ensure viability of tiger population in the core area and to promote a balance between the existence of people and animals in the buffer zones.^[7]

In 1973, nine protected areas were initially designated as tiger reserves. By the late 1980s, the initial nine reserves covering an area of 9,115 km² (3,519 sq mi) had been increased to 15 reserves covering an area of 24,700 km² (9,500 sq mi). More than 1100 tigers were estimated to inhabit the reserves by 1984.^[8] By 1997, 23 tiger reserves encompassed an area of 33,000 km² (13,000 sq mi).^[9] As of March 2024, there are 55 protected areas that have been designated as tiger reserves.^[1]

• Amangarh Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh is a buffer zone of Jim Corbett National Park and may not be regarded as a separate tiger reserve. It has a buffer zone of 80.6 km² (31.1 sq mi) but no core area of critical tiger habitat.^[11][12]