Dr Harshvardhan, 59

Although he said sex education in schools should be banned and fidelity in marriage prevents AIDS, Dr Harshvardhan, an ENT surgeon with a clean track record, was proactive in introducing policies to strengthen the health sector. Within five months, however, he was shifted to the ministry of science and technology. Curiously, the Modi sarkar found his successor in J.P. Nadda, who, while angling for the presidentship of the BJP, which eventually went to Amit Shah, had campaigned for the ouster of AIIMS whistle-blower, chief vigilance officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi

Nadda, on his part, proclaimed in one of his 11 tweets that his commitment was “to continue the fight against AIDS”. This promise came soon after the Modi government pulled out Rs 500 crore from the National AIDS Control Programme, one-third of its budget, to fund the PM’s pet project, the Swachh Bharat mission. The decision to pull out funds came despite the worst ever crisis faced by the AIDS programme in 20 years of its existence. Widespread stock shortages of antiretroviral drugs, distributed free of cost to thousands afflicted with HIV in the initial stages, are a result of delayed tender approval and poor coordination in a government that prides itself on cutting red tape.