Avahan has already awarded more than $100 million in grants for this transition.

'Our collaboration with Avahan has made it possible to reach far more people with proven HIV prevention interventions,' said K. Sujatha Rao, director general of the National Aids Control Organisation.

'This strong partnership will continue as key aspects of Avahan transition to the government in the coming years.'

India is home to 2.5 million HIV positive people including over 70,000 children below the age of 15.

Gates is in Delhi to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament, and Development on behalf of the Gates Foundation. The foundation is being recognized for 'pioneering and exemplary philanthropic work around the world and in India in health'.

As of July 2009, the foundation has committed nearly $1 billion for health and development projects in India. Globally it has committed approximately $ 11.95 billion in grants for global health, the foundation claimed in a statement.

For the last six years, Avahan-supported programmes provide thousands of people with risk-reduction counselling, access to contraceptives, treatment for sexually-transmitted infections, and other prevention services.