The story so far: To adopt a child, India’s almost 30,000 prospective parents wait for an average of three years. Data reveals that only about 10% of orphaned children — somewhere between 30,000 to 30 million — are adopted annually. Flagging this disparity, the Supreme Court earlier this month questioned the “great delay” plaguing India’s adoption systems. “Why are they (Central Adoption Resource Authority) stalling adoptions? Why CARA is not doing it. Hundreds of children are awaiting adoption in hope of a better life,” the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud observed, in response to a petition that called India the ‘orphan capital of the world’.
CARA is the nodal body regulating the adoption of “orphaned, surrendered and abandoned children” in India. The body found mention during the same-sex marriage verdict when the CJI said CARA “exceeded its authority” in restricting queer and unmarried couples from adopting children. Two years ago, civil society organisations and legal bodies flagged that the COVID-19 pandemic left children vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking, and urged CARA to simplify its onerous adoption processes.
The Hindu looks at CARA’s roles, contentious amendments and the challenges confronting the regulatory body today.
