|PIC1|A strong political will was stimulating India's fight against AIDS, raising hopes of controlling its spread in the country with the world's third-largest caseload, the UN's AIDS agency said on Monday.

Politicians were helping generate awareness among people, lobbying for HIV-related legislation and pushing for more resources to fight the deadly virus, the UN agency UNAIDS said in a report released by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The agency's India head told Reuters politicians were taking a lot of responsibility and reaching out to people in remotest of areas.

"India has managed to slow down the epidemic in some states with more decisive planning," Denis Broun said.

"We have really worked a lot in mobilising politicians and they have been able to visit around the country and understand the realities of AIDS and interact with people."

Such efforts were bearing fruits in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in the west.

"Cases are dropping in Tamil Nadu and it has been successful in Maharastra. We are sure we are going to see success in Andhra Pradesh before a year," Broun said.

India accounts for roughly half the estimated HIV infected population in Asia with 2.47 million cases.

The report said nearly five million people are infected with HIV in Asia now.

Presently 440,000 people die annually, a figure expected to rise to almost 500,000 by 2020 if suitable measures were not taken, said the report titled "Redefining AIDS in Asia - Crafting an Effective Response".

India was thought to have the world's biggest HIV-positive caseload with 5.7 million infections, but a new UN-backed estimate released last year almost halved that number after a new survey based on population rather than specific groups.

But the report warned that India must be extremely careful as people were still ignorant about use of condoms and AIDS, especially among drug users and women in rural India.

It said there were other challenges ahead such as effective sex education and strategic planning.

A study among young brides in the northern Uttar Pradesh state found that 71 percent knew nothing about how sex happens and 83 percent did not know about pregnancy, the report added.