Bill Gates on Friday announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has approved a three-year, $23 million grant to India's National AIDS Control Organisation to fight HIV/AIDS in the country, the Times of India reports. According to the Times, Gates made the announcement after meeting with Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss in Seattle.

The Times reports that Gates has appreciated the efforts made by Ramadoss to improve the health sector in India, as well as the effective implementation of the National Rural Health Mission. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has already approved a five-year $58 million grant for its Avahan program, which also fights HIV/AIDS in India (Times of India, 6/27).