An estimated 40 million people globally are subjected to modern forms of slavery. Bonded and forced labour, child labour, sex trafficking and domestic servitude are still rife. India has adopted a United Nations goal to eradicate modern slavery by 2030, but how close are we to achieving that goal? How bad is the problem in India? How does caste-based discrimination play a role? How can businesses be made more accountable, and consumers more aware about the products they buy?

We speak to a leading human rights lawyer, the head of an organisation working to free supply chains of bonded labour, and an activist fighting for the rights of those at the bottom of India’s caste hierarchy. We ask them how we can eradicate modern-day slavery.

Presenter: Devina Gupta

Contributors: Dr Colin Gonsalves, founder, Human Rights Law Network and senior advocate, Supreme Court of India; Manoj Bhatt, director, GoodWeave India; Riya Singh, Dalit activist and PhD scholar

Photo: An Indian labourer transporting bricks on a cart in a brick kiln on the outskirts of Jalandhar. Brick kiln workers in India can be trapped in a cycle of bonded labour and cheated out of promised wages Credit: Shammi Mehra/AFP/Getty Images