DAHD–NIVEDI Partnership to Strengthen Livestock Disease Intelligence and Control Highlighted During Secretary’s Visit to ICAR–NIVEDI

8 November 2025, Bengaluru

ICAR–National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics, Bengaluru, had the honour of hosting Shri Naresh Pal Gangwar, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Government of India, during his visit to the institute on 6th and 8th November 2025.

The Secretary was accorded a warm welcome by Dr. Baldev R. Gulati, Director, ICAR–NIVEDI, and the staff. The visit commenced with a tree plantation ceremony, symbolizing the joint commitment towards sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Shri Gangwar visited key research facilities, including the Disease Informatics, Parasitology, PPR–WOAH Reference, NaaViC, and BSL–2+ Laboratories, where he interacted with scientists and reviewed ongoing research programmes. He commended NIVEDI’s pivotal role in livestock disease surveillance, forecasting, and support to national animal health initiatives.

On 8th November, the Secretary inaugurated ICAR-NIVEDI’s Toll-Free Number (1800-599-4233) to facilitate enhanced disease reporting and advisory support for veterinarians and livestock owners. He also released the National Sero-monitoring Plan for Brucellosis and Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD).

During his interaction, Shri Gangwar emphasized DAHD’s vision to collaborate with NIVEDI in strengthening the National Digital Livestock Mission (NDLM) for integrated disease forecasting, communication, and control. He appreciated NIVEDI’s scientific leadership and called for greater alignment of its research outcomes with national animal health programmes for wider impact.

Dr. Gulati reaffirmed ICAR-NIVEDI’s commitment to integrating its NADRES platform with NDLM under the proposed National Animal Disease Information and Control Centre (NADICC), highlighting that DAHD’s approval of the NADICC proposal would significantly enhance India’s capacity for data-driven livestock disease intelligence.

Smt. Varsha Joshi, Additional Secretary, DAHD, commended NIVEDI’s scientific contributions and reiterated the importance of strengthening the NADICC infrastructure—a collaborative initiative she has been closely associated with to bolster national preparedness and response systems.

The visit was also attended by Dr. Mahesh P. S., Director, CEAH, Dr. S. K. Dutta, Joint Commissioner, DAHD, and other senior officials.

(Source: ICAR–National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics, Bengaluru)