The fifth cycle of the Tiger Census gave an interim estimate of 3,167 tigers in the country, with the number likely to go up in multiples of 100 as the estimation process completes. The last estimate in 2018 had pegged the number of tigers at 2,967. The significant uptick this time around has given the country a moment to celebrate. The progress can be largely attributed to the ingenuity shown by Indian leaders exactly 50 years ago in 1973. The Project Tiger, launched by the then Tourism Minister Karan Singh, has become a shining example for the world. From bordering extinction in the 1960s, the tiger population in India now boasts 75 per cent of the global estimates. The number of tiger reserves in India has increased from nine to 54 since the launch of Project Tiger, which cumulatively spans over 75,000 square kilometres. Indeed, there is so much to celebrate, but the path of tiger conservation in India has been bumpy, and challenges remain. Amid the growing risk of climate-induced environmental alterations and illegal acts like tiger poaching and killing, there is a need for evolutionary policy intervention. In the first place, there is a need to ramp up the focus on landscape protection, rather than merely relying on conservation through tiger reserves. Forests outside tiger reserve areas are estimated to hold around 30 per cent of the tiger population in the country. In such forests, the process of tiger conservation is more natural, adding to the genetic evolution of the species, which can create a capacity to absorb any unwarranted shocks in the future. At present, India has five major tiger landscapes — Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains, the Central Indian Landscape and the Eastern Ghats, the Western Ghats, North-East Hills and Brahmaputra Plains, and the Sundarbans. While the tiger reserves remain in the limelight, the situation in and around the broader landscapes is not very encouraging. The Sundarbans face the perennial problem of habitat submersion on account of the rising sea levels, apart from persistent land erosion. The biotic interference in the region in the form of livelihood exploration and other things also continues unabated. Infrastructure build-up in the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains doesn’t sit well with the cause of tiger conservation. Reckless mining in the Central Indian Highlands and Eastern Ghats has rendered the tiger population in the landscape highly vulnerable. The Western Ghats might be facing still greater constraints as the tiger occupancy in various parts of the landscape is witnessing a downslide. North Eastern Hills & Brahmaputra Plains fare comparatively better but the hydroelectric projects in the region remain a cause of concern. Conservation of entire landscapes is of vital importance. Mere emphasis on pocketed tiger reserves could enhance the size of the tiger population for the time being, but sustainability, in the long run, can be achieved only through landscape conservation. Apart from balancing infrastructural projects with the conservation pursuit, the government also has the onerous task of institutionalising monitoring mechanisms across the five landscapes so that biotic interference and man-animal conflict are kept under check. Adoption of the World-Wide Forum’s (WWF’s) Conservation Assured Tiger Standers (CATS) initiative at a broader level can help tackle some of the challenges. CATS is specifically aimed at protecting tigers outside the tiger reserves. The mix of both approaches — tiger reserves and landscape conservation — has become imperative amid the growing human population and exacerbating the climate crisis. The government stands an opportunity to show the same ingenuity as was demonstrated 50 years ago and build upon the achievements of Project Tiger. While releasing the recent Tiger Census data, the Indian Prime Minister inaugurated the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) to mark 50 years of the launch of Project Tiger. The IBCA is meant to deliberate on the conservation of big cats in India. The current emphasis on the conservation of wildlife is reassuring. This emphasis needs to be channelised in the right direction to achieve optimal outcomes. Apart from focusing on landscape conservation, the government can also bank upon cross-border collaboration with neighbouring countries to scale up the conservation process.