1. New Development
India’s international adoption process is done in accordance with the Hague Convention guidelines on intercountry adoption of children. The government is set to make crucial changes in the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act that will facilitate adoption outside India by NRIs, which will bring to ease domestic and foreign adoptions. Indian, Non-resident Indian, and Foreign citizens are all eligible to adopt a child from/in India. Eligibility requirements are the same for all.
Non-resident Indian prospective adoptive parents shall be treated at par with Indians living in India in terms of priority for adoption of Indian orphan, abandoned or surrendered children.
The norms earlier mandated monitoring of children adopted under the Act for at least two years which meant that NRIs who adopted kids in India had to stay in the country during this period. Under the latest changes, the government has decided to do away with the norm of mandating adoptive parents to stay in India after adopting a child while also allowing the Central Adoption Resource Agency to issue NOCs in such cases, which as of now, are to be issued only by courts.
2. Details of Notification
Sources in the Union Women and Child Development Ministry said notification is set to be issued in a day or two. Adoption in India, as of now, is governed under the Juvenile Justice Act and personal law and under Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs are permitted to adopt kids.
The newspapers reported that the modification was necessitated as there was a gap between this Act and the Hague Convention, the international treaty for inter-country adoption, of which India is a member.
3. Impact of the Change
Once the new norms are implemented, NRIs will be able to take children to their country of residence by giving a two-week notice and the process of verification will also start simultaneously in that country. Monitoring of children to assess how they are coping in their new home will be carried out by the Indian Mission in those countries. Adoptive parents will have to furnish all details including the address to the diplomatic mission and will need to follow the instructions for the safety of the child. The move comes shortly after the government modified the JJ Act to give the District Magistrate final authority on adoption.
4. Rules of Adoption
Single and married can adopt in India. Single people must be at least 21 yrs. However, they can be no older than 45. Unless you are adopting an older child, then you can be up to 55 years of age. Married couples need to have a combined age no older than 90. Couples should be married for more than two years. They can have divorced in their past. Your religion is not relevant. There is a law under which adoption takes place, called the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956. It’s applicable to Hindus and religions similar to Hinduism.
Applicants may have up to two children already in the home, biological or adopted previously. If there is already a child in the home, you are expected to be open to adopting one of the opposite sex. If you are Hindu, you are required to adopt a child of the opposite sex than the one already in the home. You may be able to adopt two children at the same time if those two are biological siblings. India requires at least one of the adoptive parents to travel to India at least once.
5. Adoption regulator
All adoptions in India are required to follow the procedure set out by the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA). CARA primarily deals with adoptions of orphans, abandoned, and surrendered children through its associated/recognized adoption agencies.
6. Eligibility criteria for prospective adoptive parents
- The prospective adoptive parents shall be physically, mentally and emotionally stable, financially capable and shall not have any life-threatening medical condition.
- Any prospective adoptive parent, irrespective of his marital status and whether or not he has a biological son or daughter, can adopt a child subject to the following, namely:-
- the consent of both the spouses for the adoption shall be required, in case of a married couple;
- a single female can adopt a child of any gender;
- a single male shall not be eligible to adopt a girl child;
- No child shall be given in adoption to a couple unless they have at least two years of the stable marital relationship.
- In the case of a couple, the composite age of the prospective adoptive parents shall be counted.
- The minimum age difference between the child and either of the prospective adoptive parents shall not be less than twenty-five years.
- The age criteria for prospective adoptive parents shall not be applicable in case of relative adoptions and adoption by step-parent.
- Couples with three or more children shall not be considered for adoption except in case of special need children as defined in sub-regulation (21) of regulation 2, hard to place children as mentioned in regulation 50 and in case of relative adoption and adoption by step-parent.
- The age of prospective adoptive parents, as on the date of registration, shall be counted for deciding the eligibility and the eligibility of prospective adoptive parents to apply for children of different age groups shall be as under:-
| Age of the child | Maximum composite age of prospective adoptive parents (couple) | Maximum age of single prospective adoptive parent |
| Upto 4 years | 90 years | 45 years |
| Above 4 and upto 8 years | 100 years | 50 years |
| Above 8 and upto 18 years | 110 years | 55 years |
Any Non-Resident Indian, Overseas Citizen of India or foreign prospective adoptive parents, living in a country which is a signatory to the Hague Adoption Convention and wishing to adopt an Indian child, can approach the Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency or the Central Authority concerned, as the case may be, for preparation of their Home Study Report and for their registration in Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System
In case, there is no Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency or Central Authority in their country of habitual residence, then the prospective adoptive parents shall approach the Government department or Indian diplomatic mission concerned in that country for the purpose.
On receiving the Home Study Report of the prospective adoptive parents (including supporting documents), Child Study Report and Medical Examination Report of the child, the Authority shall issue the approval, as required in the cases of adoption of children coming to India as a receiving country under Articles 5 and 17 of the Hague Adoption Convention.
