13 Parents for Every Child Available for Adoption: Report

Quick Summary

• The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has struggled to balance the growing demand for child adoptions and the limited number of children legally cleared for adoption in India.
• In 2021, there were 11 prospective parents for every child legally free for adoption; by mid-July 2025, this disparity widened to 13 prospective parents per child.
• Prospective adoptive parents registered with CARA have increased from 26,734 (2021) to 36,381 (mid-2025), whereas children eligible for adoption only rose marginally from 2,430 (2021) to 2,652 (mid-2025).
• Resource constraints and gaps in implementing the Juvenile Justice act procedures slow down declaring children in Child Care Institutions (CCI)-numbered at over 22,000-as legally free for adoption.
• The average wait time for prospective parents has risen from one year in 2017 to approximately three-and-a-half years currently. Concerns have been raised about illegal adoptions due to lengthy delays.
• Older children and those with special needs constitute a significant segment of the existing pool but are less preferred by adoptive families in India.

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