Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOC) will donate around Rs 502 million ($6.3 million) for the Cheetah Reintroduction Project.
The company signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to cover two-thirds of the cost of the project, that will bring 15-20 cheetahs to India.
The first 8 big cats are arriving this week.
"Under the aegis of the NTCA and powered by the IOC, the ambitious Cheetah Reintroduction Project is set to welcome the first cheetahs on Indian soil after over seven decades on September 17, 2022," the IOC’s statement says.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself will inaugurate the Reintroduction of the Cheetah project. He will release the first cheetahs into the forests of the Kuno National Park on September 17.
The IOC's donation will be spent on management and the protection of the cheetahs' habitat, environmental development, staff training and veterinary care.
The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, said that the initiative "will boost tourism in Chambal region."
“We are also running a skill center to train the local residents who have been displaced and settled elsewhere so that they can work as a guide and get employment in the tourism activities,” Singh Chouhan said.
The cheetah population in India dwindled in the 19th century, mainly due to hunting by the ruling British officials. The last three Asiatic cheetahs were hunted down in 1947 in Korea district (now Chhattisgarh) which was part of Madhya Pradesh. In 1952, India declared this species extinct within its territory.