Indian adoption process is long and cumbersome. PAPs (Prospective Adoptive Parents) are required to wait for approximately 3.5 years, particularly for children in the age group of 0-2 years. The waiting period is long owing to a humongous gap between PAPs and availability of legally adoptable children.

The Demand-Supply Imbalance

March 31, 2025, CARA data show a sharp disparity: 35,500-plus PAPs are registered and only 2,400 are legally adoptable children. Among the latter ones, 943 are "normal" and the rest are "special needs."

Personal Experiences: The Emotional Toll

The long wait proves emotionally taxing for majority of the couples. Moumita Das and her husband had registered in September 2021, after a miscarriage, through CARA. But to date, they have not received any referral for a child of age group 0-2 years. The same can be said of Swarnamala Arunachalam and Prasanna Sukumar from Chennai, who had registered as early as December 2021 for adopting siblings. They also remain in wait for a referral.

Governmental Inputs and Recommendations

These problems have been highlighted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports. In a report laid in Parliament, the committee suggested analyzing current procedure for such placements of orphaned, abandoned, and surrendered children into foster homes. They suggested analyzing CARA-governed dual adoption law and the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act in a manner that fills loopholes in the current laws. Legal and Procedural Issues

The Indian adoption procedure is cumbersome with various stages for protection of the child's interests. The children have to be pronounced free for adoption through legal process, involving an endeavor to trace biological relatives and procure required judicial sanctions. The cautiousness, although a priority for protection of the child, is the reason for the long waiting periods.

Recent Developments and Future Outlook

To resolve such problems, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has initiated changes so that the adoption process is made simpler. Some of the key among them were the September 23, 2024, regulations that led to more than 580 children being adopted, including the "hard to place" children.

The Indian adoption system is a hope and optimism-filled system marred by systemic flaws. Rebalancing the skewed PAP:waiting children ratio, legal automations, and mapping mooted reforms on the ground are giant strides to construct an efficient and humane adoption system.