India's Environment Ministry has launched a plan to reintroduce the cheetah into the country after 70 years of its extinction.
While launching the action plan, Federal Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to protect and conserve seven types of big cat, including cheetahs.
"The cheetah became extinct in independent India but is now all set to return," Yadav said while launching the Action Plan at the 19th meeting of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on Wednesday.
According to the plan, India will transport 10 to 12 young cheetahs from the African nations of Namibia or Botswana to India's Kuno Palpur National Park in India's Madhya Pradesh state.
"If the introduced cheetahs do not survive or fail to reproduce in five years, the programme will need to be reviewed for alternative strategies or discontinuation," reads the Action Plan document released by Yadav on Wednesday.