The National Tiger Conservation Authority has accorded the fifth tiger reserve in Rajasthan at
- (1)Sorsan – Banarn reserve
- (2)Hamirgarh – Bhilwara reserve
- (3)Dholpur – Karauli reserve
- (4)Nagpahar – Ajmer reserve
Answer
Why
Correct — option (3), Dholpur – Karauli reserve.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority's list of tiger reserves, as updated in September 2026, shows five in Rajasthan. Four carry earlier dates: Ranthambore, Sariska, Mukundara (2013) and Ramgarh Vishdhari (2022). The fifth is Dholpur – Karauli, with 2023 as its tiger-reserve notification year.
The Rajasthan Forest Department's critical tiger habitat notification, digitally signed on 6 October 2023 (after the exam), cites the NTCA's recommendation. It says the area will in future be known as the critical tiger habitat of Dholpur – Karauli Tiger Reserve.
That notification invokes Section 38V of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and joins three pieces: the whole Dhaulpur Wildlife Sanctuary, part of the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, and part of the Kailadevi Wildlife Sanctuary area that is not in Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve.
The idea to remember: Rajasthan's fifth tiger reserve is Dholpur – Karauli; its core joins the Dhaulpur sanctuary with parts of the Chambal Gharial and Kailadevi sanctuaries.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Sorsan – Banarn reserve — Sorsan, in Baran district, is protected as conservation reserves: the Rajasthan Forest Department lists Sorsan I, II and III, each notified on 26 April 2023.
A conservation reserve is declared by the State under Section 36A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. Sorsan is not on the NTCA's list of tiger reserves.
- (2)Hamirgarh – Bhilwara reserve — Hamirgarh is a conservation reserve in Bhilwara district; the Forest Department's area statement places its 566.15 hectares of reserved forest there.
It is protected under Section 36A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, not notified as a tiger reserve, and it is not on the NTCA's list.
- (4)Nagpahar – Ajmer reserve — The NTCA's list, as updated in 2026, names five tiger reserves in Rajasthan: Dholpur – Karauli, Mukundara, Ramgarh Vishdhari, Ranthambore and Sariska. Nagpahar is not among them.
The fifth reserve lies in the east of the State, in Dholpur and Karauli districts, along the Chambal.
Concept
A tiger reserve is notified by a State Government on the recommendation of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the statutory body set up under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 by its 2006 amendment.
A reserve has a core, the critical tiger habitat, kept for tiger conservation, and usually a buffer around it.
Other protected areas carry different legal status: sanctuaries are declared under Section 18, national parks under Section 35, and conservation reserves under Section 36A of the same Act.
RPSC's 2023 syllabus lists "Biodiversity & its Conservation" under Geography of Rajasthan, and "Major Current Events and Issues of Rajasthan, India and International Importance" under Current Affairs.
Project Tiger began in 1973 with nine reserves, Ranthambore among them. On Global Tiger Day, 29 July 2023, PIB put the network at 53 tiger reserves over 75,796 km² and the average tiger population estimate at 3,682.
Dholpur – Karauli's core is 59,964.06 hectares, about 599.64 km², matching the core area in NTCA's list.
Key facts
- NTCA's list (updated September 2026) shows five tiger reserves in Rajasthan: Ranthambore, Sariska, Mukundara, Ramgarh Vishdhari (2022) and Dholpur – Karauli (2023).
- Dholpur – Karauli's critical tiger habitat is 59,964.06 ha: Dhaulpur sanctuary (20,426.11 ha), Chambal Gharial Sanctuary (11,310 ha) and part of Kailadevi sanctuary (28,227.95 ha).
- The Dhaulpur Wildlife Sanctuary was notified by a Rajasthan Forest Department notification dated 28 September 2023.
- Sorsan (Baran) and Hamirgarh (Bhilwara) are conservation reserves under Section 36A, not tiger reserves.
- PIB, 29 July 2023: 53 tiger reserves in India covering 75,796 km²; average tiger population estimate, 3,682.
Years from NTCA's list (updated September 2026): its protected-area year for the first two and its tiger-reserve notification year for the rest.
Study next
Common traps
- Treating conservation reserves as tiger reserves. Sorsan and Hamirgarh are conservation reserves declared by the State under Section 36A; a tiger reserve is notified on the NTCA's recommendation.
- Counting Dholpur – Karauli as Rajasthan's fourth. Ramgarh Vishdhari became a tiger reserve in 2022, before it.
- Assuming all of Kailadevi sanctuary went into the new reserve. Only part of its area outside Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, 28,227.95 ha, forms part of Dholpur – Karauli's core.
A question can ask which area became a State's newest tiger reserve, or ask for a State's tiger reserves in the order they were created.
A question can also pair protected areas with their districts, or ask which section of the Wild Life (Protection) Act governs tiger reserves.
Related PYQs
Which is not a correct match ? Conservation Reserve (as on May 2023) – District
- (1) Rankhar – Jalore
- (2) Mansamata – Jhunjhunu
- (3) Sorsan – Bundi
- (4) Hamirgarh – Bhilwara
Answer(3)
Same Rajasthan protected-area network, a different category. That question asks which conservation reserve (as on May 2023) is wrongly matched with its district (RPSC's key: Sorsan – Bundi, since Sorsan is in Baran); this one asks which area became Rajasthan's fifth tiger reserve, with Sorsan and Hamirgarh among the wrong options.
Choose the correct statement with regards to Guru Ghasidas – Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve.
- (1) It is situated in Madhya Pradesh.
- (2) It is notified as 54th Tiger Reserve of India in November 2024.
- (3) It is spread over 1829 sq. kms.
- (4) It is the third largest tiger reserve in the country.
Answer(4)
Same topic, a newly created tiger reserve. That question asks for the correct statement about Guru Ghasidas – Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve (RPSC's key: it is the third largest tiger reserve in the country); this one asks for the site of Rajasthan's fifth tiger reserve.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under which section of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 does a State Government notify an area as a tiger reserve on the recommendation of the National Tiger Conservation Authority?
- (a)Section 36A
- (b)Section 38V
- (c)Section 18
- (d)Section 35
Answer(2) — Section 38V governs tiger reserves. Option (1) is for conservation reserves, option (3) for sanctuaries and option (4) for national parks. - practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following wildlife sanctuaries contributes area to the critical tiger habitat of Dholpur – Karauli Tiger Reserve?
- (a)Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary
- (b)Kailadevi Wildlife Sanctuary
- (c)Tal Chhapar Wildlife Sanctuary
- (d)Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary
Answer(2) — The critical tiger habitat joins Dhaulpur sanctuary, part of the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary and part of the Kailadevi sanctuary area outside Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. Options (1), (3) and (4) are not among the areas the notification names.