The Cobra Bounty in British India refers to an incident during the British colonial rule in India when the British government, concerned about the number of venomous cobras in Delhi, offered a bounty for every dead cobra. The intention was to reduce the cobra population and make the city safer. Initially, the strategy seemed successful, as large numbers of snakes were k***ed for the reward. However, enterprising individuals began breeding cobras to profit from the bounty system. When the British authorities realized this, they canceled the bounty program. As a result, the cobra breeders released their now-worthless snakes into the wild, causing the wild cobra population to increase even further. This incident is often cited as an example of the Cobra Effect, which refers to the unintended negative consequences of an incentive that was designed to improve society or individual well-being. The term was coined by economist Horst Siebert based on this anecdote.