Lok Sabha Question No. 1074 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-25
Subject: Central Adoption Resource Authority
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Adv Gowaal Kagada Padavi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1074

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2025

## CENTRAL ADOPTION RESOURCE AUTHORITY

## 1074.  ADV. GOWAAL KAGADA PADAVI:

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

- (a) whether the Ministry has any data on the pendency of adoption cases under the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of the average waiting time for adoption currently;
- (c) whether the Ministry has identified any reasons for delays in adoption processing and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether there are any plans to simplify/fast-track adoption procedures and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Ministry proposes to strengthen monitoring of adoption agencies for transparency and if so, the details of awareness campaign conducted to promote legal adoption thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

- (a) : The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) works with different stakeholders for adoption  related  matters  as  per  laid  down  process  and  procedure  under  the  Adoption Regulation, 2022. The State/UTs-wise number of children currently awaiting adoption in the country is at Annexure.
- (b)  to  (e):  The  Adoption  Regulation,  2022,  mentions  the  timelines  for  authorities  and agencies regarding adoption matters in the Schedule-XIV. The referral and adoption of a child  depends  upon  the  preference  made  by  the  Prospective  Adoptive  Parents  (PAPs) regarding age, health condition, State of the child during online registration on the CARINGS

portal. However, the children do not have to wait in the institutions on account of the online referral system enabling placement of children in adoption expeditiously.

The Government has notified the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015  (as  amended  in  2021),  which  empowers  the  District  Magistrate  to  effectively coordinate and monitor functions of the agencies responsible for implementation of the JJ Act, 2015 which include adoption related matters.

The entire adoption process is online and transparent through CARINGS portal. Further, CARA regularly holds training sessions, including weekly virtual refresher programs that are accessible nationwide to promote and facilitate adoption.

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## ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  1074  FOR  ANSWER  ON  25.07.2025  BY  ADV  GOWAAL KAGADA PADAVI REGARDING CENTRAL ADOPTION RESOURCE AUTHORITY

## State/UTs-wise number of children currently awaiting adoption

|   Sr. No. | State                       |   Number of Children |
|-----------|-----------------------------|----------------------|
|         1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |                    2 |
|         2 | Andhra Pradesh              |                  128 |
|         3 | Arunachal Pradesh           |                    8 |
|         4 | Assam                       |                   36 |
|         5 | Bihar                       |                  196 |
|         6 | Chandigarh                  |                   13 |
|         7 | Chhattisgarh                |                   45 |
|         8 | Delhi                       |                  176 |
|         9 | Goa                         |                    8 |
|        10 | Gujarat                     |                   27 |
|        11 | Haryana                     |                   76 |
|        12 | Himachal Pradesh            |                    9 |
|        13 | Jammu and Kashmir           |                    8 |
|        14 | Jharkhand                   |                   41 |
|        15 | Karnataka                   |                  106 |
|        16 | Kerala                      |                   45 |
|        17 | Ladakh                      |                    0 |
|        18 | Lakshadweep                 |                    0 |
|        19 | Madhya Pradesh              |                  139 |
|        20 | Maharashtra                 |                  250 |
|        21 | Manipur                     |                    7 |
|        22 | Meghalaya                   |                    8 |
|        23 | Mizoram                     |                   19 |
|        24 | Nagaland                    |                    4 |
|        25 | Odisha                      |                  262 |
|        26 | Puducherry                  |                    3 |
|        27 | Punjab                      |                  112 |
|        28 | Rajasthan                   |                   75 |

| 29   | Sikkim                                   |   12 |
|------|------------------------------------------|------|
| 30   | Tamil Nadu                               |   53 |
| 31   | Telangana                                |  201 |
| 32   | The Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu |    1 |
| 33   | Tripura                                  |    5 |
| 34   | Uttar Pradesh                            |  318 |
| 35   | Uttarakhand                              |   23 |
| 36   | West Bengal                              |  352 |
|      | Total                                    | 2768 |

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