India has more AIDS and HIV-infected cases than any other country in the world. But don't panic - AIDS is a scourge to all of mankind today. That's why the first point on our Do's and Don'ts list is to use the condom if at all you have to have extra-marital sex in India.

The high-risk population segments are sex workers and their clients, truck drivers, homosexuals, and injection drug users. An estimated 12 per cent of infections come from blood transfusions.

UNICOM has warned that an AIDS epidemic could break out in India in early 21st century. However, this need not scare visitors because intensive national and international efforts are underway to prevent Unicom's warning from coming true.

The worst projection is that India will have between 20 million to 50 million AIDS and HIV-infected people by the dawn of the 21st century, with Mumbai the worst affected. In the late 1990s, Mumbai is estimated to have nearly 5 million such cases. An average of 800 new cases are believed to be occurring in Mumbai everyday. As much as 52 per cent of sex workers in Mumbai had been infected by 1994.

Female sex workers in India are especially vulnerable to infection because the fear of losing business dissuades them from insisting on protection.

Again, don't panic. AIDS is a problem facing the whole world. The hugeness of India's population makes even its statistics huge. Unlike the common cold, AIDS can be avoided in most cases if one decides to avoid it.