AIDS Bill in final stages: NACO official

NEW DELHI: Even as cases of discrimination against HIV-positive persons are on the rise, the Government claimed on Friday that legislation to prevent such incidents was in the final stages of preparation.
Talking to reporters here, NACO Director-General Sujatha Rao said the third draft of the Bill had been finalised, and was with the Law Ministry for vetting. “It is expected to be cleared in a week, following which it would be placed before the Cabinet for approval. A Cabinet note for this has already been prepared.”
According to her, the Bill was likely to be tabled in Parliament either in the monsoon or the winter session. The drafting of the Bill was initiated in 2004. It took a lot of time due to the contentious issues involved, and was finalised after deliberations with the stakeholders.