In 2021, the total forest and tree cover in India is 80.9 million hectares, which is 24.62 per cent of the area of the country, according to the data released by the Forest Survey India Report (FSIR). Data from Forest Survey India shows that between 2009-10 and 2016-17, funding by the central government increased by 84.67 per cent, but forest cover increased by only 2.42 per cent. “This is called natural forest regeneration, and the best way to get more trees on the planet,” said Neshat Azam, a Delhi-based independent consultant working on sustainable forest management.