The fourth meeting of the Scientific Steering Committee on One Health, chaired by Prof. Ajay K. Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, was held on 18 December 2025 at Kartavya Bhavan 3, New Delhi.

The National One Health Mission (NOHM) is the Government of India’s whole-of-society approach to addressing health challenges at the human, animal, and environmental interface. Steered by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA), it brings together over 16 Ministries/Departments, States/UTs, academia, and other stakeholders across health, environment, agriculture, science, and technology.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health (DHR) and DG Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Dr. Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of PSA; Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST); Dr V. Narayanan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO); Dr. Rajan Khobragade, Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Kerala; Dr. Ranjan Das, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC); senior representatives from ICMR; Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC); Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD); Department of Biotechnology (DBT); Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), DST; Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO); National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS); Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Ministry of Ayush; NCDC; National Institute for One Health (NIOH); Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Department of Space (DoS), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA); OPSA, and Kerala & Gujarat state representatives. 

During the meeting, members reviewed progress under the Mission and discussed measures to further strengthen coordination between the Centre and States/Union Territories.

In his opening remarks, Prof. Sood appreciated DHR/ICMR and all stakeholder Ministries and Departments for their efforts in the successful organisation of the National One Health Assembly. He noted that the Assembly significantly enhanced awareness of the Mission through strong participation from diverse stakeholders, including youth, and underlined the positive response to the hackathon and allied activities. He reiterated the importance of sustaining youth engagement through structured and meaningful initiatives. 

Prof. Sood further highlighted that NOHM was featured at the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Biological Weapons Convention, chaired by the Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs, with participation from over 80 countries. The discussions noted the growing relevance of the One Health approach in strengthening national and global resilience, particularly for countries in the Global South.

During the meeting, PSA acknowledged the contributions of stakeholder Ministries and States/Union Territories towards strengthening the Centre–State/UT interface, particularly through inputs to the development of the model governance framework for sub-national implementation of the One Health approach. The model governance framework for strengthening the One Health approach in States and Union Territories was released during the meeting and will be disseminated to all stakeholders.

The Chairs of the four Advisory and Review Committees: Dr. Renu Swarup (Research and Development of Medical Countermeasures), Lt. Gen. Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar (BSL-3/4 Laboratory Network), Dr. N. K. Arora (Technology-Enhanced Surveillance), and Dr. Vijay Chandru (Data Integration and Sharing), along with representatives from stakeholder Ministries and Departments, presented updates on progress achieved, implementation challenges, and priority areas requiring focused attention under the One Health framework. Future activities of the Mission, with a focus on practical, scalable, and outcome-oriented interventions aimed at strengthening long-term sustainability, particularly through effective implementation were deliberated during the meeting.

The Committee approved the establishment of a One Health Genomics Consortium, on the lines of INSACOG, to be supported under the National One Health Mission.

In his concluding remarks, Prof. Sood underscored the need to translate agreed frameworks into measurable and sustained action on the ground, encouraged continuity of effort, and constructive contributions to advance the objectives of the National One Health Mission.

 

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MJPS/ST

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