New Delhi, Delhi, 16th of April 2025 : The second meeting of the Scientific Steering Committee for the National One Health Mission under the chairmanship of Prof. Ajay K. Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India for the National One Health Mission, was held on April 15, 2025 in Vigyan Bhawan.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary DHR and DG ICMR; Dr. Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of PSA; Shri Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH; Dr. Rajan Khobragade, Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Kerala; Shri Dhananjay Dwivedi, Principal Secretary (Health), Gujarat; Dr. Ranjan Das, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC); senior representatives from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC); PSA’s office, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD); Department of Biotechnology (DBT); Department of Science and Technology (DST); Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO); National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS); Ministry of Ayush; NCDC; National Institute of One Health (NIOH); Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) and state representatives.
The committee discussed several important initiatives that contribute towards the implementation of the One Health mission and how these efforts can be recalibrated to maximise impact.
Gujarat and Kerala, the two states nominated to be the members of the Scientific Steering Committee showcased their programmatic initiatives and the existing governance mechanism. The Chair emphasised on the importance of state participation and mentioned the relevance of exploring different modalities for implementing the One Health approach. The states were encouraged to strategise and design pilot programs aligned to the initiatives of the mission.
Another important highlight of this meeting was the presentation of the outcomes of the Advisory and Review (A&R) committees constituted for the operationalisation of various work streams. The chairs of the four A&R committees – Bio-Safety Level (BSL) 3/4 Laboratory Network (Chaired by Lt. Gen.(Retd.) Madhuri Kanitkar), Technology enhanced integrated surveillance and outbreak investigation (Chaired by Dr NK Arora), Research and Development on medical countermeasures (Chaired by Dr Renu Swaroop)and Integration of databases and data sharing (Chaired by Dr Vijay Chandru) – apprised the steering committee of the preliminary roadmaps for achieving their respective mandates and emphasised on the need for adopting the One Health lens for all the interventions.
The meeting also discussed the funding mechanism for the projects under the mission, which were focused on surveillance methodologies, developing R&D countermeasures like vaccines, diagnostics and monoclonals for diseases of One Health importance; Plan for the animal disease mock drill; update on augmenting the state engagements by creating the cross-learning platform.
The chair emphasised that to take the activities of the mission to scale, continued collaboration, innovation, and adaptability is required from all the stakeholders.
During the meeting, a special edition of ‘Vigyan Dhara’ dedicated to the National One Health Mission which presents the vision of this multi-ministerial collaborative effort was showcased. Further a video encapsulating the vision, diverse stakeholders and overarching goals of the Mission was released in the meeting.
About The Author
More Stories
Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai Takes Oath As Chief Justice Of The Supreme Court Of India.
Apollo 24|7 Strengthens Digital Health Leadership In Telangana; Unveils Strategic Growth Plan.
Election Commission Of India : ECI Launches Capacity Building Programme For New Batch Of Field-Level Electoral Officers From Bihar, Haryana And NCT Of Delhi.