Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood chaired the Fifth Scientific Steering Committee Meeting on 18 May 2026 at Kartavya Bhavan 3, New Delhi. The meeting focused on strengthening national preparedness against emerging public health threats, particularly zoonotic diseases and climate-sensitive health challenges, through enhanced inter-sectoral coordination and long-term planning. Discussions covered activities and interventions that may be undertaken by stakeholder ministries, with emphasis on integrated surveillance, laboratory strengthening, AI-enabled pathogen detection, cross-sectoral data sharing, and the development of medical countermeasures. During the meeting, a video on the Model Governance Framework for strengthening One Health governance in States and Union Territories was released, along with the proceedings of the National One Health Assembly and the Workshop on Operational Frameworks for One Health. Prof. Sood underscored the need to translate agreed frameworks into measurable and sustained action on the ground. He emphasised the importance of regular mock drills, strengthened preparedness mechanisms, and timely identification of funding requirements to support effective implementation. The meeting was attended by Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR) and Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Dr (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of PSA; Dr. M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES); Dr. Ranjan Das, Director, National Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (NCDC); Lt. Gen. (Rtd.) Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar; Dr. N.K. Arora; Dr. Vijay Chandru; senior representatives from stakeholder ministries; and officials from the Government of Gujarat. Access the video on the Model Governance Framework: https://lnkd.in/gHinvK7D Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/gAabQYer NITI Aayog | DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RESEARCH (DHR) M/O Health & Family Welfare, Government of India | Ministry of Ayush | Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying | Department of Biotechnology | India-DST | CSIR India | DRDO, Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India | Department Of Pharmaceuticals | Ministry of Earth Sciences | ISRO - Indian Space Research Organization | Fish GoI | MoEF&CC | Sangeeta Agarwal | Hafsa Ahmad | Darshan Narayan | Arundhati Mohanty #NOHM