New Delhi (PTI): The UN drug agency will take up with India the issue of ratification of the Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (CATOC) and has offered to provide legal assistance if needed, a top UN official has said.

"India has not yet ratified this (CATOC) which has been ratified by more than 140 countries. We will definitely explore it with the government...why it is not ratified, when do they plan to ratify it and also what are the obstacles in ratifying it," Cristina Albertin, representative of UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for South Asia, told PTI here.

UNODC can also provide legal assistance to governments which need the same for ratifying various conventions including help in drafting new legislations in line with the UN conventions, she said.

Albertin said the CATOC, which India signed on December 12, 2002, is the main international instrument to counter organised crime.