India is all set to sign a treaty with the United Nations' agency on AIDS for implementing a comprehensive programme for checking the pandemic's spread in the country.
Senior officials of the UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS have held several rounds of talks with senior Ministry of Defence officials, a senior army official said.
The Ministry of Defence will be the implementing agency for the programme.
"UNAIDS wants the armed forces as the leader of the programme and deliberations
are on to give finishing touches to the programme," Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services Lt Gen. J R Bhardwaj said.
The UN body wants the armed forces to take the lead role as our programme has shown very good results, he said.
According to UNAIDS, India now holds the second largest number of HIV infections in the world following South Africa.
With an estimated 5.1 million HIV infections in the 15-49 age group, India accounts for nearly 10 per cent of the global
HIV/AIDS prevalence.
