About CARA:
Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory body of
Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
It functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is
mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country
adoptions.
CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-
country adoptionsin accordance with the provisions of the Hague
Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of
India in 2003.
CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and
surrendered children through its associated /recognised adoption
agencies.
CARA is also mandated to frame regulations on adoption-related
matters from time to time as per Section 68 of the Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Central Adoption Resource Authority
The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is the nodal authority in India for
the adoption of Indian children.
It is a statutory body functioning under the Ministry of Women and Child
Development, GOI.
It is authorised to regulate and monitor inter-country and in-country adoptions.
CARA is the designated authority in India for inter-country adoptions
according to the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country
Adoption, 1993. India ratified the convention in 2003.
The authority chiefly handles the adoption of orphaned, surrendered and
abandoned children through its recognised/associated adoption agencies.
CARA was founded in 1990. It is a statutory body under the Juvenile Justice
Act, 2015.
Adoption in India
Adoption is the process by which an abandoned, surrendered or orphaned child
becomes the lawful child of his/her adoptive parents with all the rights, privileges and
responsibilities that are associated with a biological child.
The following are the fundamental principles in the adoption of children from India.
1. While processing any adoption placement, the interests of the child would be
paramount.
2. Preference shall be given to place the child with adopted parents who are
Indian citizens, and preferably in the child’s own socio-cultural environment,
as far as possible.
3. All adoptions should be registered on the Child Adoption Resource
Information and Guidance System and the confidentiality of the same shall be
maintained by the CARA.
Apart from CARA, there are other mandated organisations also which handle
adoptions in India. They are as follows:
State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA): Nodal body within the state to
monitor & promote adoption and non-institutional care in coordination with
CARA.
Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA): Agencies recognised by the State
Government for the placement of children in adoption.
Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA): A foreign social or child
welfare agency that is authorised by CARA on the basis of recommendations
of a foreign country’s adoption authority or govt department for all matters
relating to the adoption of an Indian child by a citizen of that country.
District Child Protection Unit (DCPU): A unit established by the state
government at the district level for identifying orphaned, surrendered and
abandoned children in the district. It also gets them declared legally free for
adoption by the child welfare committees.
Eligibility to Legally Adopt a Child in India
There are certain criteria that the prospective adoptive parents must comply with in
order to be eligible for adopting a child in India legally. They are:
They should be physically, mentally and emotionally stable; financially
capable; motivated to adopt a child; and should not have any life-threatening
medical condition.
If prospective parents satisfy all other criteria for adoption, they can adopt
irrespective of their marital status and irrespective of whether they already
have a biological child of their own.
A single female is eligible to adopt a male or female child.
A single male is not eligible to adopt a female child.
In the case of a couple adopting, the consent of both partners is necessary.
Also, they should have completed at least two years of a stable marital
relationship.
Couples with more than four children are not considered for adoption.
The minimum age difference between the child and either of the prospective
adoptive parents must not be less than 25 years.
The age of prospective adoptive parents as on the date of registration shall be
counted for deciding the eligibility and the eligibility of prospective adoptive
parents to apply for children of different age groups shall be as under:
Eligibility of the child to be adopted
1. Any orphaned, surrendered or abandoned child declared free for adoption by
the child welfare committee.
2. A child of a relative as defined in the Juvenile Justice Act.
3. Child or children of the spouse from an earlier marriage, surrendered by the
biological parent(s) for adoption by the step-parent.
Preference in Adoption
As per the Hague Convention, Indian parents are given preference over foreigners
with regard to adopting children residing in India. In 2014, the law was changed to
make NRIs and PIOs on par with Indian citizens with respect to their eligibility for
adoption from India. Foreigners staying out of India should adopt from the Immediate
Placement list. This list contains children who have been passed over by Indian
parents (includes children over the age of five, sibling groups or children with
disabilities/ailments.
Children move from the in-country to the inter-country adoption list according to the
schedule below:
After 60 days, if the child is below 5 years of age.
After 30 days, if the child is above 5 years of age or is a sibling.
After 15 days, if the child has any intellectual or physical disability.
Procedure for Adoption
In India, adoption is legal only if it is done from Specialised Adoption Agencies
(SSAs) duly recognised by the state governments or other authorised agencies only.
The do’s and don’ts for adoption as given in the official CARA website are given in
the image below:
Legal Framework Governing Adoption in India
In India, adoption is covered under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956
(for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists) and the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 (for
Muslims, Christians, Jews and Parsis).
Procedure to be followed in adoption:
Prospective parents should register themselves with the Child Adoption
Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS) of CARA.
Then the specialised adoption agency (SSA) conducts a Home Study Report
(HSR) of the prospective adoptive parents and uploads the data on CARINGS.
The suitability of the parents are determined and if not found suitable, they are
rejected and informed of the reasons.
The prospective adoptive parents can reserve from one to six children for
adoption.
Within a stipulated time, the parents visit the adoption agency to finalise the
child. If they do not finalise within the period, they come down on the
seniority list.
Once the child is finalised, the SAA completes the referral and adoption
process on CARINGS.
Then the parents take in the child for pre-adoption foster care and the SSA
files the petition in the court.
Then the court issues the adoption order.
Post-adoption follow-up reports are conducted for a period of two years.
Issue of Children Orphaned due to COVID
During the ongoing COVID pandemic, many children who have lost both parents
have become vulnerable to exploitation. There have been social media posts doing the
rounds that have put up names and details of children who have been orphaned and
are “up for adoption”. This is illegal as only authorised agencies recognised by CARA
or SARAs can deal with adoption in India. It is imperative that prospective adopters
resort to legal means to adopt children as otherwise they might end up being a part of
a trafficking nexus inadvertently and would need to face the legal consequences.
Also, there are legal consequences of disclosing the identity information of children in
public. This will make them more prone to traffickers. The National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had urged the Supreme Court to intervene in the
matter of illegal adoption taking place in the backdrop of the pandemic.
Adoption in India:
In India, an Indian citizen or a non-resident Indian (NRI) can adopt a child under the
Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956 and the Guardian and Wards Act
of 1890.
Eligibility criteria for prospective adoptive parents:
1. The prospective adoptive parents shall be physically, mentally and
emotionally stable, financially capable and shall not have any life-
threatening medical condition.
2. Any prospective adoptive parents, irrespective of his marital status and
whether or not he has biological son or daughter, can adopt a child
subject to following, namely: –
3. the consent of both the spouses for the adoption shall be required, in
case of a married couple;
4. a single female can adopt a child of any gender;
5. a single male shall not be eligible to adopt a girl child;
6. No child shall be given in adoption to a couple unless they have at least
two years of stable marital relationship.
7. The minimum age difference between the child and either of the
prospective adoptive parents shall not be less than twenty-five years.
8. The age criteria for prospective adoptive parents shall not be applicable
in case of relative adoptions and adoption by step-parent.
9. Couples with three or more children shall not be considered for adoption
except in case of special need children.
