Trafficking in India is largely internal - an intra-national racket with rural areas serving as sources and cities serving as transit points and destinations.

The United States has put India on Tier II watch list for the seventh consecutive year in its report saying that India has not done enough to prevent labour trafficking particularly bonded labour.

India is one level better than tier III countries such as Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe where trafficking rackets bust a host of both domestic and international laws, according to the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) compiled by the United States State Department.

Pakistan, though in the same group as India, is a few places higher with lesser reported incidences of trafficking.

The report has, however, some redemption for India when it comes to checking sex-trafficking. According to report ‘the Government of India does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so, particularly with regard to the law enforcement response to sex-trafficking.’

The report noted that 90 percent of the trafficking cases in India happen due to the extreme poverty of those being trafficked.

Read the report.