New Delhi, July 23 (IANS):  Bill Gates, the founder of software giant Microsoft, is in India to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that has been actively working here in the field of health and development, especially HIV/AIDS.

Gates will also meet Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here Friday.

According to officials at the foundation, he has a tightly packed schedule but the main focus of Gates' visit is accepting the prize on behalf of the foundation.

"The foundation has been working actively on a range of issues, including HIV/AIDS. During his visit, therefore, he will highlight the key milestones of the foundation," an official said.

In 2003, the foundation launched Avahan, a 10-year initiative to support India's efforts to reduce the spread of HIV. To achieve this the foundation has been working with vulnerable communities like sex workers, drug injectors, and men having sex with men, among others, in six states of the country