- Why in news
- On 6 July 2026, World Zoonoses Day, the Union Health Ministry held a National Multistakeholder Consultation in New Delhi on the draft National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Zoonoses. A learning resource package and e-learning modules on 10 priority zoonoses were also launched.
- Framework
- The plan is a strategic framework built on the One Health approach, covering governance, surveillance, labs, preparedness, risk communication, research, monitoring and financing.
- State plans
- The national plan will guide States and UTs in drawing up context-specific State Action Plans.
- Ten priority zoonoses
- The learning package covers anthrax, brucellosis, Kyasanur Forest Disease, Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever, Nipah, Mpox, rabies, leptospirosis, scrub typhus and Zika.
- Surveillance platform
- Data sharing is to run through the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) 2.0, with more sentinel surveillance sites.
- Status
- The plan is still a draft; consultation recommendations will be folded into the final plan.
Don’t confuse with One Health vs. National One Health Mission: One Health is the approach linking human, animal and environmental health. The National One Health Programme for zoonoses is a specific programme under which the training resources were developed.
Schemes: 52 Prelims questions since 2013, 10 in Prelims 2026 alone. They test features, the period and who funds it. In Mains, 33 news-triggered questions, mostly GS3.
Why it matters
- Joins human, animal, wildlife and environment departments, which often work separately, under one framework.
- Better surveillance and early warning can lower outbreak risk and strengthen health security.
Problems
- Coordination across several ministries and between Centre and States is hard to sustain.
- Weak lab capacity, thin trained workforce and patchy data sharing, especially in animal and wildlife sectors.
Way forward
- Finalise the plan with funding, clear roles and timelines, and have States adopt State Action Plans.
- Expand sentinel sites and labs, and link human and animal data through IHIP 2.0.
Put in your answer
One Health approach: Use the plan as an example of multisectoral coordination across human health, animal health, wildlife and environment.
- 2014Mains GS3 · Q11Whether overuse of antibiotics causes drug-resistant diseases in India; monitoring mechanisms.
- 2020Mains GS2 · Q11Centralising tendencies in Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act, and Farm Acts.
- 2021Mains GS4 · Q10Multiple strategies needed to control COVID-19 transmission in India.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: A lasting health framework with a One Health approach, still proposed. Few fixed facts for a Prelims statement yet.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.