Relevance: GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Phrases: Child Adoption Resource Authority, Childcare Institutions, Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System, Adoption (First Amendment) Regulations, 2021

Why in News?

• A report on “Review of Guardianship and Adoption Laws” was recently placed in parliament by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law, and Justice.
• The committee has recommended a district-level survey to get an accurate picture of the number of children who are orphaned/abandoned and the need to update the data on a regular basis.

Key Highlights of the Report:

• According to the report, there were 27,939 prospective parents willing for adoption and registered with the Child Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) as of December 2021, which has increased from nearly 18,000 in 2017.
• However, there are only 2,430 children available for adoption though there were a total of 6,996 orphaned, abandoned, and surrendered children residing in childcare institutions considered adoptable.
• Furthermore, the waiting time for adoption has increased to three years from one year in the past five years.
• The total number of children adopted in 2021-2022 was only 3,175.

What are the reasons behind the paradoxical situation?

• The current paradox is a direct consequence of the failure to bring more children in need of care into the government’s safety net.
• The significant decline in the number of children available for adoption points to trafficking or a thriving illegal child adoption market.
• The extended families or grandparents of some children do not agree to give up the child for adoption.
• The own experience of older children with their biological families restricts them from adoption.
• Many children are under parental care, but not optimal care.

What are the challenges of child adoption in India?

1. Adoptive parents returning children: Disabled children and older children take much longer to adjust to their adoptive families and to a new environment in the absence of proper counselling to live with a new family.
2. Disability and adoption: Domestic adoptions of children with special needs are dwindling with each passing year. Also, the cultural aversion towards children with special needs results in most of them being referred to overseas prospective adoptive parents.
3. Manufactured orphans and child trafficking: The illegal organisations conduct baby-selling racket by creating legal paperwork which makes the ‘orphaned’ child available for adoption. Such children are referred to as “manufactured orphans” or “paper orphans”.
4. LGBTQ+ parenthood and reproductive autonomy: The invalidity of LGBTQI+ marriages and relationships in the eyes of the law obstructs LGBTQI+ persons from becoming parents because the minimum eligibility for a couple to adopt a child is the proof of their marriage. To negotiate these unfavourable legalities, illegal adoptions are becoming increasingly common among queer communities.

Laws governing adoption in India:

1. Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956:
   • Under this act, only Hindus may adopt subject to their fulfillment of certain criteria and the term Hindu under the act includes Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs.
   • Persons who are Muslims, Christians, Parsis, or Jews are excluded from this definition.
   • The adoption is irrevocable under the act and it gives full status to the child as a natural child born to the family.
   • It also gives the right to inherit the property.
2. Guardian and Wards Act of 1890:
   • The act applies to Muslims, Parsi, Christian, and Jews in adoption.
   • Under the act, the relationship established after the adoption is only of guardian and ward respectively.
   • Adoption under GAWA does not confer the status of the child on the adopted child.
3. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2015:
   • The act is applicable to all Indian Citizens.
   • It allows the adoption of two children of the same sex.
   • It confers the status of parents & child and not guardian and ward.
   • It also confers rights available to the child on the adopted child.
   • It provides a comprehensive process for domestic and inter-country adoption of orphan, abandoned, and surrendered children.
4. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2021:
   • Recently passed Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2021, seeks to strengthen and streamline the provisions for the protection and adoption of children.
   • It provides that instead of the court, the District Magistrate (including Additional District Magistrate) will issue such adoption orders.
5. Adoption (First Amendment) Regulations, 2021:
   • The Regulations have been notified in accordance with the relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (2 of 2016) and amending Adoption Regulations, 2017.
   • As per the new regulations, the Indian diplomatic missions abroad will now be in charge of safeguarding adopted children whose parents have moved overseas with the child within two years of adoption.
   • Earlier, Indian missions had a role in inter-country adoption of Indian children limited to kids adopted by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India, or foreign parents.
6. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child (UNCRC) was ratified by India in 1992 and the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, was ratified by India in 2003.

Way Forward:

• There is a need to increase surveillance, especially on unregistered child care institutions and adoption agencies/hospitals with a past record of trafficking.
• There is a need to simplify the procedure further, besides bringing down the time required for placing a child in adoption to less than six months as a longer wait period often forces parents willing to adopt a child to resortto illegal adoption.
• In order to link children to nurturing families, there is a need for a paradigm shift that looks beyond “custodial” needs such as food and shelter and focuses on their rights.
• Such an exercise should not aim to provide more children because so many adoptive parents are waiting but to identify those genuinely without a family otherwise poor people will have their children snatched away.
• There must be zero tolerance towards abuse, violence, exploitation, and neglect of children and an adequate safety net for these children so that they get the help they need.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. What are the various challenges associated with child adoption in India? Illustrate the laws governing adoption in India and suggest the way forward to bring vulnerable children under the safety net. (250 words).