Adopting a child in India: The Challenges.

 ~Preet


Adoption in India is a challenge. The pandemic made it a nightmare

Recently, the Supreme Court decided to consider a petition seeking to streamline the legal procedure for child adoption in India. Adoption (First Amendment) Regulations, 2021 were issued in 2021, allowing Indian diplomatic missions abroad to be in responsibility of protecting adopted children when parents go overseas with the kid within two years of adoption. 

There is a significant gap between adoptable children and prospective parents, which may lengthen the adoption process. According to data, while over 29,000 potential parents are eager to adopt, there are only 2,317 children available for adoption. The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) had an extraordinary increase in adoptive parents returning children after adoption between 2017 and 2019. The Ministry of Women and Child Development established the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) as a legislative organisation. It serves as the main organisation for Indian child adoption and is responsible for monitoring and regulating both in-country and inter-country adoptions. 

There is a significant gap between adoptable children and prospective parents, which may lengthen the adoption process. According to data, while over 29,000 potential parents are eager to adopt, there are only 2,317 children available for adoption. The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) had an extraordinary increase in adoptive parents returning children after adoption between 2017 and 2019. The Ministry of Women and Child Development established the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) as a legislative organisation. It serves as the main organisation for Indian child adoption and is responsible for monitoring and regulating both in-country and inter-country adoptions.

Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Ranchi came under scrutiny in 2018 for its "baby-selling scam" when a nun from the shelter admitted to selling four infants. Similar incidents are becoming more regular as the pool of eligible children for adoption diminishes and waitlisted parents get impatient.  During the epidemic, there was also a concern of child trafficking and unlawful adoption rackets. Children are typically sourced from impoverished or marginalised households, and unwed mothers are lured or mislead into giving their children to trafficking organisations.

Despite the ongoing change of the notion of a family, the 'ideal' Indian family nucleus remains a husband, a wife, and daughter(s) or son(s) (s). While responding to petitions for legal recognition of LGBTQI+ marriages in February 2021, the government stated that LGBTQI+ partnerships could not be equated to the "Indian family unit paradigm" of a husband, wife, and children. The legal invalidity of LGBTQI+ marriages and partnerships prevents LGBTQI+ people from becoming parents since the documentation of a couple's marriage is required for a pair to adopt a child.  Illegal adoptions are becoming more frequent among LGBT groups as a way to circumvent these unfavourable regulations. Furthermore, the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill of 2020 and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill of 2020 fully exclude LGBTQI+ families, depriving them of reproductive autonomy. 

The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA) and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 govern adoption in India (JJ Act). HAMA, 1956 is administered by the Ministry of Law and Justice, whereas the JJ Act, 2015 is administered by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Adoption is lawful for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, according to government regulations. The Guardians and Ward Act (GWA), 1980 was the sole way for non-Hindu adults to become guardians of children from their community prior to the JJ Act. However, because the GWA designates persons as legal guardians rather than natural parents, guardianship ends when the ward reaches the age of 21 and acquires independent identity. 

The fundamental goal of placing a kid for adoption is to ensure his or her welfare and to restore his or her right to family. CARA and the ministry must pay attention to the vulnerable and invisible population of children who suffer in our facilities in silence. The adoption ecosystem must shift from a parent-centric to a child-centric orientation. There is a need to adopt an inclusive strategy that focuses on a child's needs in order to provide an atmosphere of acceptance, growth, and well-being, therefore recognising children as equal players in the adoption process. The adoption process should be streamlined by reexamining the different regulations that govern the adoption procedure. The ministry might consult with relevant specialists in this subject to gain comments on the practical challenges that prospective parents face.

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