PONDICHERRY being a small Union territory attracts a large percentage of tourists visiting India. The unique spiritual charm of the place is enhanced by the fact that it was a home to the great poet Sri Aurobindo and the Mother (whose real name was Mirra Alfassa and she was born in Paris. An accomplished pianist and a painter, she became a follower of Shn Aurobindo and later came to be known as the Mother). Pondicherry is at present, a Union Territory with its area scattered over three different states in the South India.
The capital of the Union Territory of Pondicherry is also known as ” PUDUCHERY” and is situated on the Coromandel Coast on the Bay of Bengal, at a distance of 162 Kms from Chennai. KARAIKAL is another part of Pondicherry, which is surrounded by the state of Tamilnadu.
The other two parts are YANAM in Andhra Pradesh and t MAHE located on the southern side of river Mahe in the west coast of Kerala. \ I Once a French colony, Pondicherry still has a few French families living here and French is also an official language.
The French spirit can be discerned in the very layout of the township. The magnificent statues of Joseph Francois Oupfiex and Joan of Arc, the wamor saint of France tells about the significant French influence on the history of the place. The French Institute of Indology and Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Onent are the living legacies of the former French occupation of the territory.
In Pondicherry, the State AIDS Cell was first formed in 1992 and the funds had been routed through the Directorate of Accounts Treasuries, Puducherry.
As the instructions of NACO, New Delhi., the Pondicherry AIDS Control Society was registered as Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 with the Registrar of Films on 31st March 1994 and allotted with the No.101 of 1994. The Society is functioning under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Health) and Director of Health & Family Welfare Services as Vice Chairman and the Project Director as Member Secretary.
Pondicherry AIDS Control Society is functioning from the Financial Year 1994-95 and is implementing the scheme formulated by NACO- Phase IV. Pondicherry has been declared as low prevalence State category based on the Sentinel Surveillance conducted by National AIDS Control Organization, GOI which has been classified the States as High Prevalence States, Medium Prevalence States and Low Prevalence States.
