Association installs condom machine.

On the occasion of World Population Day (11 July), India installed its first condom vending machine. The machine was inaugurated by Mr. Eruch Lala, an official of the Family Planning Association of India, as part of the association's campaign to help the country curb its rapid population growth rate and stem the spread of AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). Each condom, called sangam ("union" in English) costs Rupees 2 (about 6.5 US cents). The machine is located at a textile mill in Bombay. The Association said it would install at least 60 such machines in Bombay over the coming months. "A psychological advantage of the machine is that the user need not personally meet the dispenser and can collect a condom without any embarrassment," Mr. Lala said. "The machine is expected to promote efforts at curbing population growth and prevent the spread of AIDS," he said. In a separate report, AIDS has been found to be racing through India just eight years after the first case was detected. Prostitutes, drug addicts and untested blood supplies are the conduits. More than half of the prostitutes in cities such as Bombay have HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), which causes AIDS. The truck drivers and itinerant workers they serve carry it to their own villages, according to the report by Mr. Thomas Wagner writing for the Associated Press. There are 43 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases reported each year in the country, according to the report. The HIV virus has been reported in all 25 states of India. Although the AIDS pandemic came to India later than most large countries, the National AIDS Control Organization estimates there are 1.62 million cases in the population, up 60% from 1993, according to the report. "AIDS is no longer just a problem of high-risk groups; it has spread to every area of India," Dr. P.R. Das Gupta of the national AIDS agency said in an interview. "So many people are migrating from their villages in search of jobs that this epidemic is spreading very fast."