Discuss the steps taken by Central Government to reduce the incidents of human trafficking, especially of children and women in India.

Human trafficking is the third largest organized crime after drugs and the arms trade across the globe. India is a major destination as well as source of human trafficking. With a view to tackle the menace of human trafficking in India government of India has under taken number of steps such as

• India has ratified the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution as well as United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime (UNCTOC) which has as one of its Protocols Prevention, Suppression and Punishment of Trafficking in Persons, particularly Women and Children.
• Enacting “The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) “which is the premier legislation for prevention of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
• Anti-Trafficking Nodal Cell was established in the Ministry of Home Affairs to act as a focal point for communicating various decisions and follow up on action taken by the State Governments to combat the crime of Human Trafficking
• Enacting Protection of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act, 2012,  is a special law to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
• Recently Ministry of women and child development unveils first ever anti-human trafficking law and also for the first time, the National Crime Record Bureau’s Crime in India report included data on trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and convictions. 
• Government also providing fund for rehabilitation and other issues of the victims of human trafficking
• To improve the effectiveness in tackling the crime of human trafficking and to increase the responsiveness of the law enforcement machinery, ministry of home affairs appointed various advisories related to human trafficking
• A MOU was signed was between India and Bangladesh for Prevention of Human Trafficking in Women and Children, Rescue, Recovery, Repatriation and Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking