Arrange the following events in chronological order of their commencement : I. Project Tiger II. Project Elephant III. Wildlife Protect Act IV. Biological Diversity Act Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
- (a)I, II, III, IV
- (b)II, I, IV, III
- (c)III, I, II, IV
- (d)III, IV, I, II
Correct — C, III, I, II, IV. Ordered by year of commencement: the Wildlife (Protection) Act came first in 1972 (III); Project Tiger was launched the very next year, in 1973 (I); Project Elephant began in 1992 (II); and the Biological Diversity Act was enacted in 2002 (IV). So the sequence earliest to latest is III (1972) → I (1973) → II (1992) → IV (2002).
- (a)I, II, III, IV — This puts Project Tiger (1973) first, but the Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972) precedes it; it also places Project Elephant (1992) before the 1972 Act, which is impossible.
- (b)II, I, IV, III — This starts with Project Elephant (1992) — far too late to be first — and ends with the Wildlife (Protection) Act, which is actually the earliest of the four (1972).
- (d)III, IV, I, II — It correctly starts with the 1972 Act but then jumps to the Biological Diversity Act (2002) before Project Tiger (1973) and Project Elephant (1992), reversing their true order.
These are milestones of India's wildlife and biodiversity framework. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 is the legal backbone (schedules, protected areas). Project Tiger (1973) and Project Elephant (1992) are species-specific programmes creating tiger and elephant reserves. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 gave domestic effect to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity and set up the National Biodiversity Authority.
Anchor each by decade: early 1970s (the 1972 Act, then Project Tiger 1973), early 1990s (Project Elephant 1992, in the wake of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit), and 2002 (the Biodiversity Act implementing the CBD). That ordering gives III, I, II, IV directly.
- Wildlife (Protection) Act — 1972
- Project Tiger — launched 1 April 1973 (first at Jim Corbett)
- Project Elephant — launched 1992
- Biological Diversity Act — 2002 (gave effect to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity; created the National Biodiversity Authority)
- Mixing up Project Tiger (1973) with the Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972) — the Act is one year earlier
- Assuming the Biological Diversity Act (2002) predates Project Elephant (1992)
UPPSC/UPSC set conservation milestones as chronology or year-match questions — memorise 1972 Act, 1973 Tiger, 1992 Elephant, 2002 Biodiversity Act.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Project Tiger, India's flagship tiger-conservation programme, was launched in which year?
- (a)1973
- (b)1972
- (c)1980
- (d)1992
Answer(a) 1973 — launched on 1 April 1973, one year after the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established under which law?
- (a)Biological Diversity Act, 2002
- (b)Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
- (c)Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
- (d)Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
Answer(a) Biological Diversity Act, 2002 — it implements the Convention on Biological Diversity and created the NBA.