NEW DELHI: In a promising trend, adoptions have again reached pre-pandemic numbers. Govt data show that 4,009 children were adopted between April 2023 and March 2024 by families in India & abroad.
The last time the number of adoptions (in-country & inter-country) crossed 4,000 was in 2018-19 when it touched 4,027. Also, in-country adoptions at 3,560 are the highest since 2015-16.
In 2022-23, the total number of adoptions stood at 3,441, up from 3,405 in the previous financial year.
Data collated by Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), under the ministry of women and child development, show that of the 4,009 adoptions in 2023-24, 449 were inter-country adoptions.
This year, CARA expanded the ambit of adoption to include concept of 'foster adoption' as a category. So far, 10 children have been placed under foster adoption across the country, in keeping with the Adoption Regulations 2022. Moreover, CARA has also been focusing on expediting cases of relatives keen on taking an orphaned child in their family or prospective parents waiting to adopt their step children.
As many as 412 children, adopted under in-country adoptions, figure in the category of 'relative & step adoption'.
Break-up of data on domestic adoptions shows that relatives and step parents in India adopted 311 and 101 children, respectively. Relatives (NRI/OCI) abroad adopted 18 children.
A key factor contributing to increase in adoptions can be attributed to focus on promoting adoption within the country. One of the major shift under the law was that the power to pass an adoption order was given to district magistrate instead of court. Officials also point to simplification of adoption process to cut down delays.
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