The Sixth Meeting of the Scientific Steering Committee on One Health was held on 30 September 2026 at Kartavya Bhavan 3, New Delhi under the chairmanship of Prof. Ajay K. Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. The committee noted substantial progress made in operationalizing the One Health approach beyond its initial convergence framework. Prof. Sood emphasized the importance of clear institutional ownership, outcome-oriented targets, and consistent follow-through to ensure recommendations translate into action, highlighting the value of building on ongoing programs and established platforms rather than creating parallel structures.
During the meeting, the Minimum Standard Requirements document for BSL-3/4 laboratories developed by the Advisory and Review Committee on BSL 3/4 laboratories was released and will shortly be made available in the public domain for wider dissemination. The committee reviewed progress toward developing an interoperable One Health Dashboard and deliberated on areas requiring continued inter-sectoral coordination. Members appreciated efforts by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare toward the next phase of the Integrated Health Information Platform and noted potential complementarities between IHIP and the proposed One Health Dashboard.
The meeting was attended by senior officials including Dr Parvinder Maini (Scientific Secretary, Office of PSA), Dr Rajiv Bahl (Secretary, Department of Health Research and DG ICMR), Prof Umesh Waghmare (Secretary, DST), Dr Mangi Lal Jat (Secretary, DARE and DG ICAR), Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha (Secretary, Ministry of Ayush), Dr V. Narayana (Chairman, ISRO), and Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala (Secretary, MoES). Additional participants included representatives from MoH&FW, DAHD, ICMR, CSIR, MoEF&CC, DRDO, ICAR, Department of Pharmaceuticals, NCDC, Department of Fisheries, NDMA, NIOH, OPSA, and Gujarat state representatives, along with chairs of various advisory and review committees.