Child Adoption in India

Adoption is the process in which a person takes personal responsibility for a child who is not their biological child. Through this process, the child becomes a lawful child of the parents who adopted them. They have privileges, responsibilities, and rights attached to the child. The adoption process in the country is a bit complex and the average adoption happening in the country is just 4000 in a year. Adoption in India is under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956 and the Guardians and Wards Act(GWA) of 1890.

Data on Child Adoption in India

Eligibility criteria of Adoptive Parents :

• The adoptive parents should be physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially capable without any life-threatening medical condition.
• Consent of both spouses is important for adoption in the case of a married couple.
• The couple should have at least two years of a stable marital relationship.
• The age difference between the child and either of the prospective adoptive parents should not be more than 25 years. 
• Couples with three or more children are not considered eligible unless there is some special need. 
• A single female is allowed to adopt a child of any gender. 
• A single male is not allowed to adopt a girl child.

 Eligibility Criteria of the Child to be Adopted: 

• Any orphan, surrendered or abandoned child.
• A child of a relative as defined in the juvenile justice Act.
• Child of a spouse from earlier marriage surrendered by biological parents for adoption by stepparents.

 Reason for the Adoption:

• To become parents.
• To overcome infertility as 10-14% of the Indian population suffers from infertility.
• To avoid pregnancy complications.
• People suffering from genetic disorders do not want to pass genes and produce an unhealthy baby.
• People are doing it consciously to balance population growth.
• It is done out of kindness and humanity for giving a better life to needy children.

Procedure for determining the Status of Child:

• Every district Child Welfare Committee(CWC) which includes psychologists, sociologists, doctors, and lawyers first effort to find out the members of the birth family. The Local Child Right Protection Committee and designated Child Welfare Officer help in the investigation process.
• If the birth family is not found CWC refers a child to the special adoption agency for interim care.
• The District Child Protection Unit undertakes a social investigation to find extended family.
• Falling to find the extended family child are declared orphaned, surrendered, or abandoned.

Adoption Process:

• Under the Juvenile Justice Act, a child should be declared legally free for adoption.
• The child is to be produced before the district CWC, according to section 31 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
• A social investigation report and a home study report are done for committee assessment before the adoption.
• The best interest of the children is then decided after doing matchmaking with the prospective parents under CARA.

Laws to Adopt a Child in India

• The adoption takes place under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act,1956 (HAMA) and the Juvenile Justice (Care and protection of children) Act,2015. HAMA, 1956 is in the domain of the Ministry of Law and justice but juvenile justice is under the Ministry of women and child development. The Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh are allowed to adopt kids through this rule.
• Under the Juvenile and Justice Act, Guardians and ward Act(GWA),1980 only non- Hindu individuals are eligible to become parents. GWA appoints an individual as a legal guardian, not natural parents and guardianship is till the ward turns 21.
• To follow the legal route for adoption any concerned citizen can call 1098 to report a child who has been abandoned or orphaned.
• All childcare institutions should be registered and linked to the central adoption resource authority.

Issues Related to Child Adoption

The following issues related to child adoption are:

• The wide gap between adoptable children and prospective parents. As per data, more than 29000 prospective parents are willing to adopt but the number of children available for adoption is just 2,317.
• There are cases of returning adopted children as 60% of children returned are girls and 24% with special needs are returned. Disabled children take a much longer time to adjust.
• When it comes to the disabled children only 40 children are adopted between 2018 and 2019. It is just 1 % of the total adopted children.
• During the pandemic, cases of child trafficking and illegal adoption increased.
• LGBTQ and social stigma with Adoption, as Indians still believe in the definition of the family consisting of Husband, wife, son, and daughter. Even in Feb 2021 while addressing legal recognition of LGBTQ, the court denied accepting them as a family unit. The invalidity of the LBGTQ marriage and relationships in the law obstructs them from becoming parents.

Central Adoption Resource Authority(CARA):

• It is a statutory body of the Ministry of women and Child development.
• It is a nodal body in charge of the adoption of Indian children and mandating, monitoring, and regulating in-country and inter-country adoption.
•  It deals with the adoption of orphans, abandoned, and surrendered with the help of related agencies. 
• It is the central authority that deals with inter-country adoption in the accordance with Hague convention on inter-country adoption,1993 ratified by the Government of India in 2003.

Steps Need to be Taken:

• The child is the wealth of the country and their well-being during birth is the first step in developing the country. 
• Child adoption needs to prioritize for children’s welfare. 
• The institutional mandates and the CARA should function in sync to provide welfare work for children. 
• The adoption process should be simplified with the development of an inclusive approach to acceptance, growth, and well-being
• Children should be treated as equal stakeholders in the adoption process.

Conclusion:

Adoption is an important decision that involves legal, social, and economic angles. The well-being of children and parents both are important for the development of society. Adoption should be widely discussed and consciously taken decision. Stakeholders should be aware of the process and the challenges it brings. Government and institutions should be well aware as it is about human well-being and the Right to life.