Abstract

This paper focuses on the relationships between economic development and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in individual state with a particular focus on the years between 2005 and 2011. Data was collected from annual reports compiled by the National AIDS Control Organization in India, sentinel surveys, economic statistics published by the government of India and a few journalistic sources. This data was graphed in a variety of ways including bar graphs to show comparisons between states and scatter plots to determine several key relationships. While there has been overall economic growth in India, an increase in per capita income, an increase in income inequality in rural and urban areas, and a decrease in prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS, there is a substantial presence of HIV/AIDS in several states including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Karnataka. The greater prevalence rates in Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland are partly explained largely by the drug trade from Myanmar. High rates of in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka are partly explained by a large commercial sex industry through South India, migration of individuals from northern to southern India in Andhra Pradesh, and intermittent drug use especially in states like Maharashtra.