Hemendra Singh Panwar

Born: 22 March 1937

• He is an Indian conservationist and civil servant, known for his efforts in the fields of wildlife and conservation.
• He was the first director of the Wildlife Institute of India and was the director of Project Tiger.
• The Government of India honoured him, in 2013, with Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award, for his services to the environment and conservation.
• In 1981, he was transferred to Delhi, as the head of Project Tiger, a project conceptualised in 1973, for the protection of the tiger population in India.
• He worked for 4 years on the project, till 1985, during which time, the project brought seven additional reserves under its umbrella.
• The population of tigers in India rose from 1900 to 3000.
• He was also invited to present a paper on the subject by the Smithsonian Institution.

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