New Delhi: A child will not have to get adopted if there are more parents who are ready to do the procedure, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani told the Rajya Sabha, underlining that more girl children are being adopted in India in the last three years against boys.
Replying to the supplementaries during question hour, the minister said the average time taken to adopt a child through court processes was so lengthy that a minimum of two years was needed by adoptive parents in terms of waiting and to reduce the time gap the ministry has proposed the amendment in the law, as in many cases it took up to 3.5 years.
"On September 23 this year, we notified the new regulation as there were close to 900 cases pending in states in our high courts. After the states acted on the new resolution, over 580 children have already been adopted, including children who are in the 'hard to place' category in older age groups who have never been adopted before," she told the house.
Ms Irani said there are children who are older and are made available to our NRI diaspora and OCI card holders.
Just in a period of seven days, 42 such children found placement with Indian diaspora and resident Indians, she said.
"A child now does not have to wait, the adoptive parent may... I am happy to report that children will not have to wait if there are more parents who are ready to adopt. That is a healthy sign for society which is compassionate. Parents may have to wait but children will not have to," the minister told members.
Ms Irani also said that more girls are being adopted in the country since the last three years and gave figures for the same.
"In our country, in the year 2019-20, on one side 1,400 boys were adopted, on the other hand 1,938 girls were adopted. In 2020-21, while there were 1,200 boys who were adopted, as many as 1,856 girls were adopted. In 2021-22, as many as 1,293 boys were adopted while 1,690 girls were adopted and they have adopted girls as Goddess Laxmi," Ms Irani informed the house.
In her written reply, the minister said, "The waiting period of the Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) depends on the availability of children who are legally free for adoption. It also depends on the choice of the Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) to adopt from a particular State and also the age group preferred." While there is a long queue to adopt a normal young child upto six years of age, there is no waiting period for the PAPs who desire to adopt a child having special needs and a child from immediate placement category(mostly older children). Further, the waiting time is relevant for the PAPs only as the child does not wait for the family, she said.
"With effect from November 10, 2022, Government has facilitated for the Resident Indians/Non-Resident Indians/ Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)Card holder PAPs to adopt a child from ‘7-day portal' irrespective of the seniority in their socio-cultural milieu which has been highly appreciated by the waiting parents.
"On the basis of feedback received from the stakeholders and experts, Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has framed the Adoption Regulations, 2022 in-line with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021) which has been notified on 23.09.2022." "The Adoption Regulations, 2022 were framed keeping in mind the issues and challenges faced by CARA and other stake holders including the Adoption Agencies & Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs)," the minister said.
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