The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has increased the number of centres providing free Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) from 54 to 91 centres, with 9 more centres to be operational soon. Medicines for treating 8,500 patients have been made available at these centres. All the 91 centres have trained doctors, counsellors and laboratory technicians to help initiate patients on ART and provide follow up care while protecting confidentiality. Apart from providing free treatment, all the ART centres provide counselling to the infected persons so that they regularly take their medication. Continuity is the most important factor for the long term effectiveness of the ART drugs, as disruption can lead to drug resistance. At present, 40,000 are on ART, which is expected to go up to 85,000 by March.