India is facing a severe shortage of HIV/AIDS drugs provided under the government's free medicine programme as few drug makers stalled the supply due to delay in payments. Over thousands of patients are left without treatment causing more worries.

Generally National AIDS Control Organisation [NACO], a unit of the healthcare ministry supplies to HIV/AIDS drugs to all healthcare providers in the country and for this they follow a tender process with companies who provide the drug. However, few drug suppliers have halted the tenders as over the past one year payments to them are getting delayed.

India had the third-largest number of people living with HIV in the world at the end of 2013 and accounts for about four out of 10 people, according to the UN AIDS programme UNAIDS. Officials at NACO were unavailable to comment on this while a trust is planning to file a lawsuit against the government over delay in drug.

(AW: Vamshi)