The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) organized national celebrations for World Elephant Day 2026 in Visakhapatnam, presided over by Union Minister of State Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh with Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Shri Konidala Pawan Kalyan as Guest of Honour. The event marked significant conservation milestones and new initiatives under Project Elephant.
A key announcement was the release of a Regional Action Plan for Comprehensive Understanding and Management of Human-Elephant Conflict in Southern India, covering Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The plan, developed with Rs. 500 crores funding from the Government of India, adopts a landscape-level approach focusing on habitat connectivity, corridor conservation, early-warning systems, conflict mitigation infrastructure, habitat restoration, community participation, research and monitoring, rapid response mechanisms, capacity building, and strengthened interstate coordination.
The event featured the conferment of Gaj Gaurav Awards 2026 to individuals for exemplary contributions to elephant conservation and management. Thirty 'Giant Steps' were released highlighting major milestones and conservation initiatives undertaken under Project Elephant during 2020–2026. Project Elephant, launched in 1992 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, has completed over three decades of efforts protecting elephants, their habitats and corridors, addressing human-elephant conflict, and ensuring welfare of captive elephants.
Several publications were released including a Special Issue of the Journal of Wildlife Science commemorating three decades of elephant conservation, the monograph 'Asian Elephants in Central India Before 1947', The Trumpet Volume VI Issue 01, Model Elephant Conservation Plan for the Nilgiri Elephant Reserve, 'Captive Elephant Husbandry: Science, Welfare and Practice', and Phase II of Human Elephant conflict study covering Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and West Bengal.
The 23rd Steering Committee Meeting of Project Elephant, chaired by Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, deliberated on current issues in elephant conservation and management. A workshop on 'Human–Elephant Conflict: Varying Scenarios Across India' brought together regulatory authorities, scientific institutions, and field agencies from elephant-range States to review status, trends, and regional variations of HEC through scientific evidence and field experiences.
A nationwide mass awareness campaign organized in coordination with National Museum of Natural History witnessed participation of more than 20 lakh students from 21,450 schools through painting and mask-making competitions, rallies, nukkad nataks, awareness programmes, and pledge-taking ceremonies. India maintains 33 Elephant Reserves, 150 scientifically identified elephant corridors, and nearly 60% of the world's wild Asian elephant population.