RAS question
Protected areas in India under strict protection (National Parks) number approximately:
Correct answer: (B) 106.
India has 106 existing National Parks, making 106 the approximate count of protected areas under strict national-park protection.
Explanation
National Parks are the strictest category among these protected-area categories because the Wildlife Institute of India describes them as areas notified for protecting and propagating wildlife and its environment, with no human activity permitted except activities allowed by the Chief Wildlife Warden under Chapter IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The WII National Wildlife Database gives the present figure as 106 existing National Parks in India, covering 44,402.95 sq km. The official protected-area database therefore supports 106 as the correct count. The older exam-note figure of about 44,378 sq km is close, but India's National Parks count remains 106.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 50 is far below the official WII count of 106 existing National Parks in India.
- (C) 200 overstates the number because the official WII National Wildlife Database lists 106 existing National Parks, not a figure near two hundred.
- (D) 500 is much too high for National Parks, whose official WII count is 106 existing units.
Concept
The protected-area network falls under Environment and Ecology, especially the distinction between National Parks and other conservation categories. RAS repeatedly covers factual counts and legal protection levels under the Wildlife Protection Act as standard ecology prelims material.