Adoption in India

Of the 2,991 domestic ‘in-country’ adoptions made between 2021 and 2022, as many as 1,698 were girls. A closer look at the data from 2013-14 onwards, uploaded on the website of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), confirms that more girls are given for adoption in India than boys.

Details –

• Of the 2,991 domestic ‘in-country’ adoptions made between 2021 and 2022, as many as 1,698 were girls.
• A closer look at the data from 2013-14 onwards, uploaded on the website of the CARA, confirms that more girls are given for adoption in India than boys.
• While this indicates that more couples are willingly adopting girls and shows a change in mindset, it also brings into focus the fact that often there are many more girls who are abandoned at birth than boys.
• Hence, many more of them are likely to make it to the adoption pool and get adopted.
• This change in mindset has been visible for the past 8-10 years and remains positively strong.

What is Adoption in legal terms?

• Adoption is the formal process through which a child is permanently separated from his biological parents to become the lawful child of his adoptive parents.
• The adopted child enjoys all rights, privileges and responsibilities attached to a biological child.

Legal Provisions –

• In India, two legislations deal with the adoption of a child —
  • The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA)
  • The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
    • This includes Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules, 2016 and Adoption Regulations, 2017.
• The fundamental principles that govern adoption state that –
  • Interests of the child are most important and
  • Preference is to be given to place the child in adoption with Indian citizens with “due regard to the principle of placement of the child in his socio-cultural environment, as far as possible”.
• CARA functions as the nodal agency for adoption in India —
• A database of children and registration of prospective parents is done on a centralised Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS), which is maintained by CARA.

Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) –

• CARA is a statutory body established under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
• CARA functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
• It primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated/recognised adoption agencies.
• CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993.