Lok Sabha Question No. 1239 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-06
Subject: Strengthening  of Adoption & Child Welfare Ecosystem
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Jagdambika Pal, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Shri Captain Brijesh Chowta

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1239

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.02.2026

## STRENGTHENING OF ADOPTION & CHILD WELFARE ECOSYSTEM

## 1239.  SHRI CAPTAIN BRIJESH CHOWTA SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR

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

- (a) the details of the key functions of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), alongwith the major rules governing adoption/foster care under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the related regulations;
- (b) the number of children legally available for adoption/number of registered prospective adoptive parents (Resident Indians, NRIs, OCIs and foreign nationals) on the CARINGS portal indicating the average waiting period and measures undertaken to reduce delays through digital monitoring and procedural reforms, State-wise, category-wise including district-wise details for Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka;
- (c) the details of the process for declaring orphaned, abandoned/surrendered children legally free  for  adoption,  the  role  of  Child  Welfare  Committees  alongwith  the  action  taken against unregistered Child Care Institutions, including such cases identified, if any, in Karnataka;
- (d) the  details  of  the  eligibility  norms/monitoring  mechanisms  for  foster  care,  including transgender/homosexual persons eligible to foster/adopt; and
- (e) the details of the safeguards for inter-country adoptions, annual adoption statistics, budget utilisation/reforms proposed to be enhance transparency and efficiency?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILDDEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNAPURNA DEVI)

(a):   The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, is mandated with the following functions under Section 68 of the Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, namely, (i) to promote in-country adoptions  and  to  facilitate  inter-State  adoptions  in  co-ordination  with  State  Agency;  (ii)  to regulate inter-country adoptions; (iii) to frame regulations on adoption and related matters from time to time as may be necessary; (iv) to carry out the functions of the Central Authority under the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Inter-country Adoption; and (v) any other function as may be prescribed.

Adoption in the country is undertaken through the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act (JJ Act), 2015 and Adoption Regulations 2022. For Foster Care, the Ministry has framed Model Foster Care Guidelines, 2024, which are implemented through States and UTs.

(b): As per designated portal CARINGS now unified with the Mission Vatsalya portal, a total number of 2170 children are legally available for adoption (as on 22/01/2026).

The total number of Prospective Adoptive Parents (Resident Indians, NRIs, OCIs and Foreign Nationals) registered on the CARINGS portal (as on 22/01/2026) is as under: -

|   Resident Indians |   NRIs |   OCIs |   Foreign Nationals |
|--------------------|--------|--------|---------------------|
|              29610 |    268 |    154 |                 201 |

The waiting period for adoption depends on factors such as the availability of children in the State, and the child's age, category, gender and health condition. There is no waiting period for the adoption of children with special needs and a child from immediate placement category (mostly older children).

To reduce delays and ensure transparency, CARA has digitised the entire adoption process through  an  online  portal,  with  regular  monitoring  and  follow-ups  with  States/UTs.  An Identification Cell has also been set up since July 2024 to identify adoptable children in Child Care Institutions and expedite their declaration as legally free for adoption. The timelines for processes relating to children, for authorized and agencies concerned as well as adoption by resident Indians/NRIs/OCIs/Foreign PAPs (living/not living in India) have been prescribed in the Adoption Regulations, 2022.

State-wise, category-wise details of LFA (Legally Free for Adoption) pendency and the districtwise details in the State of Karnataka are at Annexure-I and Annexure-II respectively.

(c): The procedure for declaring a child as orphaned, abandoned or surrendered is prescribed under the JJ Act, 2015. JJ Act lay down the process for production of the child before the Child Welfare Committee and for declaring the child legally free for adoption.

Section 41 of the JJ Act, 2015 provides for the registration of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) by the State Government, while Section 42 empowers the State Government to take appropriate action against CCIs functioning without registration. The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) is constituted under Section 27 of the Act in every district to exercise the powers and discharge the duties relating to children in need of care and protection.

(d)& (e):    Model Foster Care Guidelines, 2024 lays down the eligibility criteria for Prospective Foster Parents and is available on the CARA website. Inter-country adoption follows a fully online and transparent process with mandatory registration of Prospective Adoptive Parents. Home studies and registration of NRI, OCI and foreign PAPs are conducted only through the designated portal by authorized agencies, Central Authorities or Indian Missions, and all cases are scrutinized and approved by CARA in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. Postadoption follow-up is mandatory for two years and is carried out through authorized agencies or Indian Missions in the receiving country. Counselling of prospective parents and children is required at all stages of adoption, including prior to any disruption or dissolution. Data related to adoption during the last 3 years as per the CARINGS portal under Mission Vatsalya is as follows: -

| Year    |   In-country |   Inter-country |   Total |
|---------|--------------|-----------------|---------|
| 2022-23 |         3010 |             431 |    3441 |
| 2023-24 |         3580 |             449 |    4029 |
| 2024-25 |         4155 |             360 |    4515 |

CARA undertakes all adoption-related activities within the budget allocated by the Ministry, with no separate allocation for inter-country adoptions. To improve transparency and efficiency, the adoption  process  has  been  streamlined  through  mandatory  counselling,  medical  assessment  of children  with  special  needs,  issuance  of  adoption  orders  by  the  District  Magistrate,  and  fixed timelines. The entire process is digitized through the CARINGS portal under Mission Vatsalya, with real-time tracking and monitoring of prospective adoptive parents and children through an integrated dashboard, ensuring a transparent and efficient adoption system.

*****

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY  TO  PART  (b)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUSTION  NO.  1239  FOR  ANSWER  ON  06.02.2026  BY  SHRI  CAPTAIN BRIJESH  CHOWTA,  SHRI  JAGDAMBILKA  PAL  AND  SHRI  ANURAG  SINGH THAKUR  REGARDING  STRENGTHENING  OF  ADOPTION  &  CHILD  WELFARE ECOSYSTEM

STATE-WISE AND CATEGORY-WISE DETAILS OF LEGALLY FREE FOR ADOPTION (LFA) CHILDREN

|    | S.N.States/UTs              |     |   OrphanAbandonedSurrenderedTotal |     |     |
|----|-----------------------------|-----|-----------------------------------|-----|-----|
|  1 | ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS |   3 |                                 0 |   0 |   3 |
|  2 | ANDHRA PRADESH              |   5 |                                12 |  11 |  28 |
|  3 | ARUNACHAL PRADESH           |  18 |                                29 |  35 |  82 |
|  4 | ASSAM                       |  59 |                                66 |  39 | 164 |
|  5 | BIHAR                       |  17 |                                45 |   4 |  66 |
|  6 | CHANDIGARH                  |   0 |                                 0 |   0 |   0 |
|  7 | CHHATTISGARH                | 146 |                                94 |  25 | 265 |
|  8 | DELHI                       |  33 |                               229 |  18 | 280 |
|  9 | GOA                         |   2 |                                 4 |  11 |  17 |
| 10 | GUJARAT                     |   5 |                                38 |  10 |  53 |
| 11 | HARYANA                     |  36 |                                82 |  38 | 156 |
| 12 | HIMACHAL PRADESH            |   0 |                                 4 |   1 |   5 |
| 13 | JAMMU AND KASHMIR           |  36 |                                29 |  26 |  91 |
| 14 | JHARKHAND                   |  11 |                                54 |   8 |  73 |
| 15 | KARNATAKA                   |  46 |                                95 | 124 | 265 |
| 16 | KERALA                      |  22 |                                23 |  25 |  70 |
| 17 | LADAKH                      |   0 |                                 0 |   0 |   0 |
| 18 | LAKSHADWEEP                 |   0 |                                 0 |   0 |   0 |
| 19 | MADHYA PRADESH              |  51 |                                85 |  27 | 163 |
| 20 | MAHARASHTRA                 | 106 |                               343 | 210 | 659 |
| 21 | MANIPUR                     |  30 |                                 6 |   5 |  41 |
| 22 | MEGHALAYA                   |   0 |                                 0 |   1 |   1 |
| 23 | MIZORAM                     |   0 |                                 0 |   1 |   1 |
| 24 | NAGALAND                    |   0 |                                 0 |   3 |   3 |
| 25 | ODISHA                      | 110 |                                44 |  32 | 186 |
| 26 | PUDUCHERRY                  |   0 |                                 1 |   7 |   8 |
| 27 | PUNJAB                      |   1 |                                 8 |   4 |  13 |
| 28 | RAJASTHAN                   |  27 |                                29 |   7 |  63 |
| 29 | SIKKIM                      |   4 |                                 0 |   0 |   4 |
| 30 | TAMIL NADU                  | 118 |                                91 | 194 | 403 |
| 31 | TELANGANA                   |   6 |                                31 |  40 |  77 |

|   32 | THE DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI AND DAMANAND DIU   |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |
|------|-----------------------------------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|   33 | TRIPURA                                       |  15 |  12 |   6 |  33 |
|   34 | UTTARAKHAND                                   |  20 |   6 |   4 |  30 |
|   35 | UTTAR PRADESH                                 | 128 | 252 |  28 | 408 |
|   36 | WEST BENGAL                                   |  37 | 153 |  32 | 222 |

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY  TO  PART  (b)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUSTION  NO.  1239  FOR  ANSWER  ON  06.02.2026  BY  SHRI  CAPTAIN BRIJESH  CHOWTA,  SHRI  JAGDAMBILKA  PAL  AND  SHRI  ANURAG  SINGH THAKUR  REGARDINGSTRENGTHENING  OF  ADOPTION  &  CHILD  WELFARE ECOSYSTEM

DISTRICT-WISE  AND  CATEGORY-WISE  DETAILS  OF  LEGALLY  FREE  FOR ADOPTION  (LFA)  CHILDREN  IN  THE  STATE  OF  KARNATAKA  INCLUDING DAKSHINA KANNADA DISTRICT

|    | S.N.Districts    |   OrphanAbandonedSurrendered |    |    |   Total |
|----|------------------|------------------------------|----|----|---------|
|  1 | BAGALKOTE        |                            0 |  0 |  0 |       0 |
|  2 | BALLARI          |                            4 |  0 |  2 |       6 |
|  3 | BELAGAVI         |                           23 |  0 |  0 |      23 |
|  4 | BENGALURU RURAL  |                            0 |  3 |  3 |       6 |
|  5 | BENGALURU SOUTH  |                            0 |  1 |  3 |       4 |
|  6 | BENGALURU URBAN  |                            5 | 44 | 44 |      93 |
|  7 | BIDAR            |                            3 |  4 |  1 |       8 |
|  8 | CHAMARAJANAGAR   |                            0 |  0 |  2 |       2 |
|  9 | CHIKKABALLAPURA  |                            0 |  1 |  1 |       2 |
| 10 | CHIKKAMAGALURU   |                            0 |  1 |  1 |       2 |
| 11 | CHITRADURGA      |                            1 |  1 |  3 |       5 |
| 12 | DAKSHINA KANNADA |                            0 |  3 |  8 |      11 |
| 13 | DAVANAGERE       |                            0 |  3 |  7 |      10 |
| 14 | DHARWAD          |                            5 |  3 |  1 |       9 |
| 15 | GADAG            |                            0 |  0 |  0 |       0 |
| 16 | HASSAN           |                            1 |  2 |  4 |       7 |
| 17 | HAVERI           |                            0 |  1 |  2 |       3 |
| 18 | KALABURAGI       |                            0 |  0 |  5 |       5 |
| 19 | KODAGU           |                            0 | 11 |  1 |      12 |
| 20 | KOLAR            |                            0 |  2 |  1 |       3 |
| 21 | KOPPAL           |                            0 |  0 |  0 |       0 |
| 22 | MANDYA           |                            3 |  4 |  3 |      10 |
| 23 | MYSURU           |                            0 |  2 |  6 |       8 |
| 24 | RAICHUR          |                            0 |  2 |  0 |       2 |
| 25 | SHIVAMOGGA       |                            0 |  1 |  5 |       6 |
| 26 | TUMAKURU         |                            0 |  3 | 12 |      15 |
| 27 | UDUPI            |                            1 |  0 |  3 |       4 |
| 28 | UTTARA KANNADA   |                            0 |  2 |  4 |       6 |

|   29 | VIJAYANAGARA   |   0 |   0 |   0 |   0 |
|------|----------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|   30 | VIJAYAPURA     |   0 |   0 |   2 |   2 |
|   31 | YADGIR         |   0 |   1 |   0 |   1 |