Perhaps for the first time in the history of business schools in India, Bhubaneswar based Xavier Institute of Management(XIM), one of the leading management institutes in the country, has awarded certificates to as many as 91 HIV positive students after they successfully completed an in-house management course.

The HIV infected students, both male and female, who were selected from across the country, attended the six week certificate programme in Leadership And Management Proficiency (LAMP) in four batches. The programme which had begun in January this year, was sponsored by UNDP with active involvement of several national and international organizations working in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention including the National Aids Control Organization (NACO).

93 candidates were selected from more than three thousand applicants who had expressed their keenness to attend the course.

The UNDP and XIM authorities who were present at the function held here on Tuesday, where these successful HIV students were felicitated, said the prime objective of their effort was to build confidence among the HIV positive students to lead a meaningful life with dignity.

These successful students, they said would inspire others infected by the AIDS virus and bring a ray of hope in their lives.