Child Adoption

Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code report submitted to CM: What it says

The state has developed a mobile application to assist citizens with queries related to the UCC

18K adoptions since 2019, only 1.4K children with special needs find homes

Of the 18,179 adoptions recorded since 2019, only 1,404 involved children with special needs even as the absolute numbers of adoptions saw an increase over the next five years, according to official data. Though the number of children with special needs for adoption has risen, the adoption rate is still significantly low, activists pointed out. Children with special needs require additional support due to physical, developmental, behavioural or emotional challenges. In 2019-20, India saw a total of 3,745 adoptions -- 3,351 in-country and 394 international. Of the total number, only 56 boys and 110 girls with special needs were adopted, the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) said in its response to an RTI query filed by PTI. In 2020-21, a total of 3,559 adoptions were recorded including 3,142 in-country and 417 inter-country. Only 110 boys and 133 girls with special needs were adopted in this year. The number of adoptions dropped marginally to 3,405 -- 2,991 in-country and

New foster care rules in India: Singles can now adopt after two years

Under the updated Model Foster Care Guidelines, individuals aged between 35 and 60 can now foster children, regardless of their marital status

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

Allahabad HC allows woman with 4 biological children to adopt minor girl

The Allahabad High Court ruled that the District Probation Officer's order, which declared the woman legally unfit to adopt the child, was mechanical and wholly vague

Where are our children?

A steep decline in fertility, badly regulated adoption, and other impediments are likely to lead to severe social and economic problems

2,000 children adopted by Indians, 224 by foreigners so far this year: Govt

More than 2,000 children have been adopted by Indians in the financial year 2023-24 so far while 224 children have been adopted by foreigners, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani informed the Parliament on Wednesday. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Irani said the Women and Child Development Ministry had notified Adoption Regulations, 2022, which have been framed in line with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021), on September 23 last year. The Adoption Regulations were framed keeping in mind the issues and challenges faced by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and other stakeholders, including the Adoption Agencies and Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs), she said. According to the data shared by the minister, 3,142 children were adopted by Indians and 417 by foreigners in 2020-21, 2,991 by Indians and 414 by foreigners in 2021-22, and 3,010 by Indians and 431 by foreigners in 2022-23. In ...

Egg freezing industry likely to touch Rs 25,000 crore mark in 10 years

According to industry experts, the egg-freezing market in India is still in its early stages but is poised for growth in the coming years

Unmarried couples, including queer couples, can jointly adopt child: CJI

Unmarried couples, including queer couples, can jointly adopt a child, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday while striking down a Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) regulation that allows only married couples to adopt children. A five-judge Constitution bench of the top court on Tuesday unanimously refused to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriages under the Special Marriage Act, ruling that it is within the Parliament's ambit to change the law for validating such a union. Writing a 247-page separate judgement, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud struck down Regulation 5(3) of the CARA, saying it is violative of the rights of the queer community and that the CARA has exceeded its authority in barring unmarried couples from adopting children. The five-judge bench, however, passed a 3:2 verdict against adoption rights for the LGBTQIA++ community. While the CJI and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul opined that queer couples should be given adoption rights, Justices Ravin

M&M extends maternity leave policy to cover adoption, surrogacy

The new maternity benefits policy gives 6 months of flexible work option and 24 months of hybrid work option to all new mothers

Marriage equality: No bar on adoption by same-sex couples, says CJI

The CJI asserted that even a single individual can adopt a child despite being in a same-sex relationship

Same-sex marriage in India: What did Supreme Court say in the case?

The three-member bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said that the issue was 'very seminal' and must be decided by a Constitution bench

No waiting period for adopting child with special needs: WCD

There is no waiting period for those who desire to adopt a child having special needs and also from the immediate placement category which includes mostly older children, the government said on Wednesday. The immediate placement category includes children who have been referred several times to prospective adoptive parents (PAP's) through Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System, but have not found a family. These children are mostly above the age of five. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said while there is a long queue to adopt a normal child up to six years of age, there is no waiting period for PAPs who desire to adopt a child having special needs and a child from immediate placement category(mostly older children). According to the data shared by her, 2,991 children, including 1,698 girls, were adopted in 2021-22 while 3,142 children, including 1,856 girls, were adopted in-country in 2020-21 and

Inheritance rights of adopted children vary on the basis of religion

Hindu and Christian personal law treat adopted child on a par with natural-born ones

Millions of children waiting to be adopted, make the process simpler: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday emphasised that the child adoption process in India needs to be streamlined as there are three-to-four years waiting period under the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to adopt a single child while there are "lakhs and lakhs of orphan children waiting to be adopted". The top court had earlier also termed the process as "very tedious" and said that there is an urgent need for the procedures to be "streamlined". A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, AS Bopanna, and JB Pardiwala told Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, "There are a lot of young couples waiting to adopt the child but the process is so tedious that it takes three to four years to get a single child to be adopted through the CARA. Can you imagine a three to four years period to adopt a child in India? It should be made simpler. There are lakhs and lakhs of orphan children waiting to be adopted". Nataraj said that the government is seized of the issue and ..

Over 2,000 children died in specialised adoption agencies since 2014: Govt

Over 2,000 children have died in specialised adoption agencies since 2014, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said on Friday.

28,663 Indians waiting to adopt a child, trend not declining: Govt

Smriti Irani said 1,030 foreign applicants (including Non-Resident Indians and Overseas Citizen of India) are registered with the Central Adoption Resource Authority for adoption.

Adoptive mothers can claim equal maternity benefits, say analysts

Law in India, however, does not provide for paternity leave

Parents lost to Covid-19, young lives fall vulnerable to exploitation

The pandemic has exacerbated the crisis for the most vulnerable sections, and children who have lost a parent or have been orphaned are among the worst hit

Pleas to adopt 'Covid orphans' illegal, shelter homes last resort: Experts

They need the support of their extended family, say state and NGO welfare workers.