Big cats, billions, bonds: India’s massive tiger economy

Did you know, that if you were to invest 1 rupee in any an Indian tiger reserve, the return could be as high as 7,489 times? Tiger reserves in India—that house 3,167 or 75% of the world’s big cats—constitute a billion dollar economy.And almost nothing of it is accounted for in India’s GDP! Nevertheless, governments and corporates are fast becoming aware of the bounties of tiger habitats. More reserves are becoming carbon credit markets and interesting concepts like tiger bonds are being explored. But challenges-shrinking budget support, human-tiger conflict-remain. Host Anirban Chowdhury talks opportunities to Madhu Verma, Environmental Economist, Senior Economic Advisor, Iora Ecological Solutions; Gaurav Gupta, Senior Advisor, Conservation Finance - UNDP; and Richa Sharma - Assistant Editor, ESG - ET Prime. If you like this episode from Anirban Chowdhury, check out his other interesting episodes on El Niño: Little Boy, Big Trouble, Will music streaming platforms survive in India?, Lufthansa CEO on its turnaround, India and Air India, and much more! You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: Twitter and Linkedin. Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on ET Play, The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Google Podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.