Long Wait Times Continue to Challenge Prospective Adoptive Parents in India

New Delhi: Determined to experience parenthood after enduring a miscarriage, Moumita Das and her husband from West Bengal, both in their 30s, registered with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in September 2021 to adopt a child. In 2025, despite gradually advancing on the waiting list, the couple is still anxiously anticipating their turn to be matched with a child in the 0-2 age bracket.

Even as adoptions reached a record high of over 4,500 in 2024-25, the most in 11 years, the journey remains arduous for many prospective adoptive parents (PAPs). On average, those looking to adopt infants or young children face a waiting period of three and a half years. The demand for children in the 0-2 age category remains significantly high. Swarnamala Arunachalam and her husband Prasanna Sukumar from Chennai, also in their 30s, have been on the adoption list since December 2021. They specifically opted to adopt siblings rather than have biological children and registered with CARA on their second wedding anniversary. However, the prolonged wait has caused mounting anxiety. They remain hopeful that this year will bring them a referral.

For any PAPs, the extended process feels like a “race against time” as age advances and uncertainty deepens. Statistics paint a stark picture. As per CARA’s dashboard data from March 31, over 35,500 prospective adoptive parents are currently registered under various categories, while the number of children available for adoption stands at just around 2,400. Among these, 943 are categorized as “normal children”, while the rest fall under the “special needs” category.

Recognizing the protracted delays, the department-related parliamentary standing committee on education, women, children, youth, and sports, led by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, has urged the government to reassess the existing adoption framework. The committee’s report, presented in parliament, recommends revisiting protocols governing the placement of orphaned, abandoned, and surrendered (OAS) children. Additionally, it has suggested reviewing the coexistence of CARA regulations and the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act to address inconsistencies.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has acknowledged that while the adoption process has been streamlined under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, via the CARINGS online system, the predominant grievance remains the extensive waiting period for PAPs. The ministry also highlighted that "...Parents want to adopt younger children only, thus leaving behind a large number of older children."

Furthermore, the WCD ministry emphasized that the current ratio of registered children to PAPs has resulted in an average wait time of three and a half years for those seeking infants or very young children. The situation underscores the need for policy refinements to bridge the gap between the number of waiting parents and available children, ensuring a more efficient and compassionate adoption system in India.