Adoptions in India reach pre-pandemic levels at over 4,000 in a year

Of the 4,009 adoptions between April 2023 and March 2024, 449 were inter-country adoptions, the government data showed

In a heartening news, more than 4,000 children were adopted between April 2023 and March 2024, a mark reached for the first time in five years, The Times of India reported on Tuesday citing government data.

The Central Adoption Resource Authority (Cara) website showed that 4,009 children were adopted by families in India and abroad between April 2023 and March 2024. In the 2018-19 period, 4027 children were adopted.

In the subsequent years, which were plagued by the Covid-19 pandemic, this trend saw a decline with 3,745 children adopted in 2019-20, a total of 3,559 adopted in 2020-21 period, 3,405 children adopted in 2021-22, and 3,441 adopted in 2022-23.

449 inter-country adoptions last year

Of the 4,009 adoptions last year, 449 were inter-country adoptions, the data available on Cara showed.

Notably, Cara has broadened the adoption scope this year to include 'foster adoptions' as a new category. 

"Apart from existing five types of adoption under the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 (amended in 2021) and Adoption Regulations 2022, children already in foster care have been facilitated to be adopted by foster parents depending on their legal status," the body states. Foster care temporarily places children (above the age of six) in an approved alternative domestic environment other than the child's biological family.

According to recent estimates, 33,000 prospective parents in India are willing to adopt children. The revised changes aim to speed up the adoption process to ensure that as many children as possible are placed in nurturing environments, the authority said.

Cara is a statutory body that operates under the Ministry of Women & Child Development.