As per latest Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change notification, India has 18 notified biosphere reserves covering representative biogeographic zones, from Trans-Himalayan Cold Desert to Sundarbans mangroves. Recent additions include Panna 2011 and Cold Desert 2009. Out of these, 12 are inscribed in UNESCO World Network such as Nilgiri, Gulf of Mannar, Sundarbans, Nanda Devi. Network expansion reflects gap analysis aiming to include under-represented ecosystems and follows MAB zonation principles for sustainable development models. Mastery of this rule helps candidates differenti
Ref:
MoEFCC Annual Report 2023 – 18 Biosphere Reserves; Wikipedia India Biosphere Reserves Count 18