Lok Sabha Question No. 2062 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-29
Subject: Adoption of Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT, HARISH DWIVEDI, VIJAYSINH MOHITE PATIL, DHANANJAY BHIMRAO MAHADIK, RAJEEV SHANKARRAO SATAV, P.R. SUNDARAM, SUPRIYA SADANAND SULE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2062 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.12.2017

## ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

2062.   DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT: SHRI HARISH CHANDRA ALIAS HARISH DWIVEDI: SHRI MOHITE PATIL VIJAYSINH SHANKARRAO: SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK: SHRI SATAV RAJEEV: SHRI P.R. SUNDARAM: SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE:

Will the Minister of Women & Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of orphans in the country, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  that  fewer  children  are  being  adopted  in  the country in recent years and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  received  complaints  regarding  complicated  formalities  in the adoption procedure/guidelines;
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the measures taken by the Government to simplify the adoption procedure to boost adoption in the country;
- (e) whether the Government has asked the States/UTs to encourage adoption to help more children find a home; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof along with the response of States/UTs thereto?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR)

- (a) The adoption in the country takes place under  Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA) and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act). HAMA, 1956 falls in the domain of Ministry of Law and Justice and JJ Act, 2015 pertain to this Ministry.  As per Section 2(57) and Section 65 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,  2015, [JJ Act] each State/UTs is to establish/recognize one or more 'Specialised Adoption Agency' (SAA) in each district for housing orphans, abandoned  and  surrendered  children,  placed  there  by  order  of  the  Committee,  for  the purpose of adoption. The primary responsibility in execution of the JJ Act lies with the

State  Governments.  Central  Govt  is  executing  a  scheme  namely  Integrated  Child Protection  Scheme  (ICPS)  (now  'Child  protection  Services')  for  providing  financial assistance to State Governments/UT Administrations, on sharing pattern, for execution of the  Act  and  with  the  objective  to  create  a  safe  and  secure  environment  for  overall development of children in need of care and protection, which includes orphan/abandoned/surrendered  children.  The  data  regarding  number  of  orphan  in  the country is not maintained centrally in the Ministry of Women and Child Development. However, the number of SAAs with number of Children residing in these institutions, as reported by the State/UT governments and receiving fund under the ICPS, is Annexed.

- (b) The adoption is done through the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA) and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act). The details of adoption under HAMA are not maintained centrally. The same has been reflected in part  (a).    However,  as  reported  by  Central  Adoption  Resource  Authority  (CARA),  the adoptions under JJ Act, 2015 for last three years and current year are as under:
- (c)       & (d): The Adoption Regulation, 2017 has replaced the Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children, 2015, keeping in view the feedbacks received from adoption agencies and other stakeholders for pre-adoption, adoption & post-adoption related issues for further simplification of adoption process and transparency through                e-governance and fully  automated  online  system  with  central  database.    Cradle  points  are  also  being established  at  Public  Health  Centre  (PHC)  and  other  places  for  safe  abandonment  of children.  Apart  from  this  advocacy  programme  is  being  under  taken  for  boosting  the adoption programme in the country.
- (e)       & (f): The State Governments/UTs have been asked to register all Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and link them with the Specialised Adoption Agencies so that the large number of children residing in CCIs can also be placed with families, under JJ Act, 2015.

| Year                        |   In-country |   Inter-country |
|-----------------------------|--------------|-----------------|
| 2014-2015                   |         3988 |             374 |
| 2015-2016                   |         3011 |             666 |
| 2016-2017                   |         3210 |             578 |
| 2017-2018 (upto 28/12/2017) |         2117 |             538 |

****

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2062 for 29.12.2017 raised by Dr. Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, Shri Harish Chandra alias Harish Dwivedi, Shri Mohite Patil Vijaysinh  Shankarrao,  Shri  Dhananjay  Mahadik,  Shri  Satav  Rajeev,  Shri  P.  R.  Sundaram  and Shrimati Supriya Sule regarding 'Adoption of Children'

## Details  of  SAAs  in  the  country  along  with  number  of  Children  residing  in  these  institutions  under ICPS, during the current financial year, as on date.

| S. No.   | State                               |   Specialized Adoption Agencies (SAAs) |   Beneficiaries |
|----------|-------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|-----------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                      |                                     14 |             135 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                   |                                      1 |               3 |
| 3        | Assam                               |                                     14 |              78 |
| 4        | Bihar                               |                                     28 |             170 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                        |                                     14 |              42 |
| 6        | Goa                                 |                                      2 |              46 |
| 7        | Gujarat                             |                                     14 |             163 |
| 8        | Haryana                             |                                      7 |              48 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh                    |                                      1 |               6 |
| 10       | Jammu and Kashmir                   |                                      2 |              20 |
| 11       | Jharkhand                           |                                      9 |              59 |
| 12       | Karnataka                           |                                     27 |             210 |
| 13       | Kerala                              |                                     17 |             243 |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh                      |                                     22 |             213 |
| 15       | Maharashtra                         |                                     17 |             181 |
| 16       | Manipur                             |                                      5 |              35 |
| 17       | Meghalaya                           |                                      1 |               6 |
| 18       | Mizoram                             |                                      7 |              51 |
| 19       | Nagaland                            |                                      4 |               7 |
| 20       | Odisha                              |                                     17 |             217 |
| 21       | Punjab                              |                                      5 |             107 |
| 22       | Rajasthan                           |                                     35 |             206 |
| 23       | Sikkim                              |                                      4 |               4 |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu                          |                                     15 |             150 |
| 25       | Tripura                             |                                      6 |              39 |
| 26       | Uttar Pradesh                       |                                     17 |             170 |
| 27       | Uttarakhand                         |                                      7 |              81 |
| 28       | West Bengal                         |                                     22 |             273 |
| 29       | Telangana                           |                                     11 |             309 |
| 30       | Andaman &Nicobar                    |                                      0 |               0 |
| 31       | Chandigarh                          |                                      4 |              17 |
| 32       | Dadra and Nagar Haveli              |                                      0 |               0 |
| 33       | Daman and Diu                       |                                      0 |               0 |
| 34       | Lakshadweep                         |                                      0 |               0 |
| 35       | National Capital Territory of Delhi |                                      3 |              60 |
| 36       | Puducherry                          |                                      2 |              13 |
|          | Total                               |                                    354 |            3362 |