18th Research Advisory Committee Meeting Organised at ICAR–NIVEDI, Bengaluru

9 March 2026, Bengaluru

The 18th Research Advisory Committee meeting of the ICAR–National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics, Bengaluru, was convened today under the chairmanship of Dr J. P. S. Gill, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana.

The meeting was attended by eminent experts including Dr Mruthyunjaya, Former Director, National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NIAP), and Dr Ashok Kumar Tiwari, Former Director, ICAR–Central Avian Research Institute (ICAR–CARI). Dr M. M. Parida, Director, Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), DRDO, and Dr Divakar Hemadri, Assistant Director General (Animal Health), ICAR, joined the meeting virtually.

During the meeting, Dr Baldev Raj Gulati, Director, ICAR–NIVEDI, presented the institute’s progress in livestock disease epidemiology, surveillance, modelling, and disease informatics. Dr S. S. Patil, Member Secretary of the RAC, presented the Action Taken Report (ATR) on the recommendations of the previous RAC meeting. Research group leaders also highlighted major achievements and ongoing activities in bovine, small ruminant, and pig disease epidemiology, along with advancements in disease intelligence and socio-economic analyses.

The RAC members provided strategic guidance to further strengthen risk-based disease surveillance, near real-time digital disease reporting through the NADEN network, and predictive disease intelligence and forecasting. The committee also emphasised the importance of impact assessment of vaccination programmes through coverage evaluation and seromonitoring, while encouraging collaborative research under the One Health framework.

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