The UNODC’s Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2022 presented shocking data sets about the forms of exploitation of victims of human trafficking in the South Asia region, including India. About 37% of victims in the region are trafficked for sexual exploitation, 56% for forced labour, and 7% for other work. Women continue to comprise the largest share of trafficking victims, while children, both boys and girls, account for about 37%. In this backdrop, the Central government’s decision to provide financial assistance to the States and Union Territo-ries in border areas to set up Protection and Rehabilitation Homes for victims of trafficking, particularly minor girls and young women, is laudable. The UNODC report also revealed that almost all victims detected in South Asia were trafficked domestically, and less than one percent of detected victims trafficked across borders were from neighbouring countries within the region. Intensifying awareness drives against human trafficking in vul-nerable areas, along with socio-economic intervention and the conviction of traffickers through speedy trials, are crucial to curbing trafficking and protecting potential victims. The proposed Protection and Rehabilitation Homes will provide services like shelter, clothing, counselling, primary health facilities, and other daily requirements. An official release issued by the Press Information Bureau states that India is a source as well as a destination country for the trafficking of persons. The source countries are Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, from where women and girls are getting trafficked in the guise of proving a better life, jobs, and a good living condition in India. A majority of them are minor girls or women of younger age who, after their arrival in India, are sold and forced into commercial sex work. These girls and women often reach major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hydera-bad, etc., from where they are taken out of country, mainly to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, according to the release, explaining the rationale why the bordering States to these countries need to have adequate facilities to provide relief and rehabilitation services to the victims of trafficking and be more vigilant. National Crime Rec-ords Bureau data shows that Assam topped the chart in cases of human trafficking in the northeast region, with 203 cases registered and 349 people arrested in 2021. The figures could just be the tip of an iceberg, as many cas-es go unreported due to a lack of awareness among parents and family members of the victims, who belong to poor and downtrodden families. The traffickers deceive the parents of child victims of trafficking or family members of adult victims about taking them outside the village, town, or state for jobs and better livelihood op-portunities. Even though the primary responsibility for taking appropriate steps for preventing and tackling hu-man trafficking lies with the respective State Governments and UT administrations, with the traffickers having established a well-coordinated network not just within the country but also globally, the states coordinating and synergizing their efforts to curb trafficking with the active support of the Central government is critical to rescu-ing the victims, busting the traffickers, and punishing the traffickers. The Central Government has provided fund-ing to all States, UTs, and border guarding forces for setting up or strengthening the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) in every district under the Nirabhaya fund. As of this date, 788 AHTUs, including 30 under border guard forces, are functional. Building awareness at village level and strengthening vigil against human trafficking at every police station level is crucial for these AHTUs to be effective in curbing trafficking. An advisory issued from time to time by the Ministry of Home Affairs highlighted that concerned officers in States and UTs some-times lack awareness and training and fail to register cases under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code, re-sulting in an ineffective prosecution or conviction rate, etc. Section 370A of the Indian Penal Code includes the legal provision against trafficking and states that whoever, despite knowing or having reason to believe that a child has been trafficked, employs such a child in any form of labour shall be punished with rigorous imprison-ment for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to seven years, and with a fine. Un-der this legal provision, if someone, despite knowing or having reason to believe that an adult has been traf-ficked, employs such an adult for labour, they shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term that shall not be less than three years but may extend to five years, and they shall also be liable to a fine. The MHA advisory correctly insists that motivating and updating the knowledge base of the officers dealing with human trafficking is essential, and States need to undertake special efforts to provide them with adequate training, resource materi-als, etc. periodically. However, prevention of human trafficking cannot be left as a task for law enforcement agen-cies alone and requires collaborative efforts by every section of society.