Yojana Magazine May 2022 - 2 | Monthly Yojana & Kurukshetra Magazine (English) - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


YOJANA   May 2022 23
India is one of the youngest countries in the world— it is projected that till 2050, half of the world’s 
population growth will come from nine countries including India. For any country, children are 
the future capital, an asset that needs to be nurtured if the demographic dividend is to be truly 
reaped. Since the pandemic struck in 2020, thousands of children have been orphaned. Policies 
may be reviewed for the 30 million orphaned and abandoned children, and bring them into 
focus by urgently realigning its childcare policies.
Safeguarding Children 
Sameera Saurabh
The author is Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME, GoI. She has worked for Social Sector and Development Agenda of G20 and specialises 
in Developmental Economics. Email: sameera.saurabh@gmail.com. 
futuRe cApIt Al major part of India’s population— around 
158 million consists of children in the age 
group of 0-6 years.
1 
India is home to 472 
million children upto the age of 18 years and 
comprising 39 per cent of the country’s population. There 
are roughly 30 million orphaned and abandoned children 
in India––  that’s almost 4% of the youth population. 
According to the United Nations Children’s 
Fund (UNICEF), India has 29.6 million orphaned and 
abandoned children. However, figures provided by 
private organisations showed that in 2017, of these 30 
million children, there were only 470,000 children in the 
institutionalised care. And, of these, roughly half a million 
children, only a fraction finds their way into family care 
A
because adoption rates in India are abysmally low. This 
means that there needs to be a huge readjustment in the 
Government’s focus on child development, as currently, 
millions of children are being denied opportunities to live 
a life of safety and good health.
Adoption rates in India have always been low, but 
they have been dropping in the past few years. The 
Government’s Central Adoption Resource Authority 
(CARA) statistics show that in 2010, there were 5,693  
in-country adoptions, while in 2017-2018, there were only 
3,276 in-country adoptions. This fall occured because out 
of approximately 30 million children abandoned, only 
261,000 are under institutionalised care, accounting for 
a meagre 0.87%. 
FOCUS
Page 2


YOJANA   May 2022 23
India is one of the youngest countries in the world— it is projected that till 2050, half of the world’s 
population growth will come from nine countries including India. For any country, children are 
the future capital, an asset that needs to be nurtured if the demographic dividend is to be truly 
reaped. Since the pandemic struck in 2020, thousands of children have been orphaned. Policies 
may be reviewed for the 30 million orphaned and abandoned children, and bring them into 
focus by urgently realigning its childcare policies.
Safeguarding Children 
Sameera Saurabh
The author is Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME, GoI. She has worked for Social Sector and Development Agenda of G20 and specialises 
in Developmental Economics. Email: sameera.saurabh@gmail.com. 
futuRe cApIt Al major part of India’s population— around 
158 million consists of children in the age 
group of 0-6 years.
1 
India is home to 472 
million children upto the age of 18 years and 
comprising 39 per cent of the country’s population. There 
are roughly 30 million orphaned and abandoned children 
in India––  that’s almost 4% of the youth population. 
According to the United Nations Children’s 
Fund (UNICEF), India has 29.6 million orphaned and 
abandoned children. However, figures provided by 
private organisations showed that in 2017, of these 30 
million children, there were only 470,000 children in the 
institutionalised care. And, of these, roughly half a million 
children, only a fraction finds their way into family care 
A
because adoption rates in India are abysmally low. This 
means that there needs to be a huge readjustment in the 
Government’s focus on child development, as currently, 
millions of children are being denied opportunities to live 
a life of safety and good health.
Adoption rates in India have always been low, but 
they have been dropping in the past few years. The 
Government’s Central Adoption Resource Authority 
(CARA) statistics show that in 2010, there were 5,693  
in-country adoptions, while in 2017-2018, there were only 
3,276 in-country adoptions. This fall occured because out 
of approximately 30 million children abandoned, only 
261,000 are under institutionalised care, accounting for 
a meagre 0.87%. 
FOCUS
24 YOJANA   May 2022
Data shows that while more than 
29,000 prospective parents are willing 
to adopt, just 2,317 to 3,000 children 
are available for adoption. Adoption 
laws in India are strict, leading to 
exceptionally low numbers of adoptions 
taking place. From March 2019-2020, 
only 3,351 children were adopted. This 
suggests a wide gap between adoptable 
children and prospective parents, which 
may increase the length of the whole 
process. The reasons for low levels of 
adoption in India are manifold.
Firstly, there aren’t enough children 
available for adoption because the ratio 
of abandoned children to children in institutionalised 
care is lopsided. Seeing children on the streets is the most 
common sight in India. The District Child Protection 
Officer should be taking the street children to a Child 
Care Institution (CCI), and if their parents aren’t found, 
then they should be placed for adoption.
The National Commission for Protection of Child 
Rights (NCPCR) data shows that there are 5,850 registered 
CCIs in India. But if unregistered ones are included in 
the basket, there are more than 8,000 such functioning 
institutions, and as per regulations, only registered CCIs 
can be linked to adoption agencies. Further, it says 
that there are 2,32,937 children in all registered and 
unregistered CCIs. However, not all CCIs in India are 
registered under the law. Including unregistered ones, 
there are a total of 8,000 CCIs. Children in unregistered 
institutions are vulnerable to poor care, physical violence, 
sexual abuse, and trafficking. The Government should 
also devote greater resources on setting up more CCIs 
along with a strategy to move millions of children off the 
streets to institutionalised care and a 
supportive family. This can happen 
if the Government pushes its focus, 
money, and resources towards shutting 
down unregistered CCIs, holding  
district-level childcare officers 
accountable, and running a country-
wide campaign on adoption as 
another means of having a child.
Disability and Adoption
In January 2020, CARA held 
a national consensus to discuss 
the possibility of improving and 
streamlining the adoption process. 
Among other points of discussion, it stated that the 
institution prepared a classification of children with 
special needs, spanning 14 sub-categories.
The categorisation would enable prospective 
adoptive parents to understand the children’s needs 
better and enhance their chances of adoption. However, 
according to the latest available data shared by CARA, 
only 40 children with disabilities were adopted between 
2018 and 2019, accounting for approximately 1% of the 
total number of children adopted in the year.
Annual trends reveal that domestic adoptions of 
children with special needs are dwindling with each 
passing year. At the same time, foreigners adopting 
children with special needs is steadily rising since 
prospective adoptive Indian parents faced with a long 
waiting period for a ‘healthy’ baby, end up adopting 
children with disabilities as a last resort. The cultural 
aversion towards children with special needs results 
in most of them being referred to overseas prospective 
adoptive parents.
The year 2015 saw 
a moment of transition 
in the adoption process 
with the introduction 
of the Central Adoption 
Resource Authority 
(CARA). CARA is an 
autonomous and statutory 
body of MoWCD under 
the Government of 
India. The system acts 
as a centralised digital 
database of adoptable 
children and prospective 
parents. It functions 
as the nodal body for 
the adoption of Indian 
children and is mandated 
to monitor and regulate 
There needs to be a 
huge readjustment in the 
Government’s focus on child 
development because currently, 
millions of children are being 
denied opportunities to live a 
life of safety and good health. 
Adoption rates in India have 
always been low, but they have 
been dropping in the past few 
years. 
Page 3


YOJANA   May 2022 23
India is one of the youngest countries in the world— it is projected that till 2050, half of the world’s 
population growth will come from nine countries including India. For any country, children are 
the future capital, an asset that needs to be nurtured if the demographic dividend is to be truly 
reaped. Since the pandemic struck in 2020, thousands of children have been orphaned. Policies 
may be reviewed for the 30 million orphaned and abandoned children, and bring them into 
focus by urgently realigning its childcare policies.
Safeguarding Children 
Sameera Saurabh
The author is Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME, GoI. She has worked for Social Sector and Development Agenda of G20 and specialises 
in Developmental Economics. Email: sameera.saurabh@gmail.com. 
futuRe cApIt Al major part of India’s population— around 
158 million consists of children in the age 
group of 0-6 years.
1 
India is home to 472 
million children upto the age of 18 years and 
comprising 39 per cent of the country’s population. There 
are roughly 30 million orphaned and abandoned children 
in India––  that’s almost 4% of the youth population. 
According to the United Nations Children’s 
Fund (UNICEF), India has 29.6 million orphaned and 
abandoned children. However, figures provided by 
private organisations showed that in 2017, of these 30 
million children, there were only 470,000 children in the 
institutionalised care. And, of these, roughly half a million 
children, only a fraction finds their way into family care 
A
because adoption rates in India are abysmally low. This 
means that there needs to be a huge readjustment in the 
Government’s focus on child development, as currently, 
millions of children are being denied opportunities to live 
a life of safety and good health.
Adoption rates in India have always been low, but 
they have been dropping in the past few years. The 
Government’s Central Adoption Resource Authority 
(CARA) statistics show that in 2010, there were 5,693  
in-country adoptions, while in 2017-2018, there were only 
3,276 in-country adoptions. This fall occured because out 
of approximately 30 million children abandoned, only 
261,000 are under institutionalised care, accounting for 
a meagre 0.87%. 
FOCUS
24 YOJANA   May 2022
Data shows that while more than 
29,000 prospective parents are willing 
to adopt, just 2,317 to 3,000 children 
are available for adoption. Adoption 
laws in India are strict, leading to 
exceptionally low numbers of adoptions 
taking place. From March 2019-2020, 
only 3,351 children were adopted. This 
suggests a wide gap between adoptable 
children and prospective parents, which 
may increase the length of the whole 
process. The reasons for low levels of 
adoption in India are manifold.
Firstly, there aren’t enough children 
available for adoption because the ratio 
of abandoned children to children in institutionalised 
care is lopsided. Seeing children on the streets is the most 
common sight in India. The District Child Protection 
Officer should be taking the street children to a Child 
Care Institution (CCI), and if their parents aren’t found, 
then they should be placed for adoption.
The National Commission for Protection of Child 
Rights (NCPCR) data shows that there are 5,850 registered 
CCIs in India. But if unregistered ones are included in 
the basket, there are more than 8,000 such functioning 
institutions, and as per regulations, only registered CCIs 
can be linked to adoption agencies. Further, it says 
that there are 2,32,937 children in all registered and 
unregistered CCIs. However, not all CCIs in India are 
registered under the law. Including unregistered ones, 
there are a total of 8,000 CCIs. Children in unregistered 
institutions are vulnerable to poor care, physical violence, 
sexual abuse, and trafficking. The Government should 
also devote greater resources on setting up more CCIs 
along with a strategy to move millions of children off the 
streets to institutionalised care and a 
supportive family. This can happen 
if the Government pushes its focus, 
money, and resources towards shutting 
down unregistered CCIs, holding  
district-level childcare officers 
accountable, and running a country-
wide campaign on adoption as 
another means of having a child.
Disability and Adoption
In January 2020, CARA held 
a national consensus to discuss 
the possibility of improving and 
streamlining the adoption process. 
Among other points of discussion, it stated that the 
institution prepared a classification of children with 
special needs, spanning 14 sub-categories.
The categorisation would enable prospective 
adoptive parents to understand the children’s needs 
better and enhance their chances of adoption. However, 
according to the latest available data shared by CARA, 
only 40 children with disabilities were adopted between 
2018 and 2019, accounting for approximately 1% of the 
total number of children adopted in the year.
Annual trends reveal that domestic adoptions of 
children with special needs are dwindling with each 
passing year. At the same time, foreigners adopting 
children with special needs is steadily rising since 
prospective adoptive Indian parents faced with a long 
waiting period for a ‘healthy’ baby, end up adopting 
children with disabilities as a last resort. The cultural 
aversion towards children with special needs results 
in most of them being referred to overseas prospective 
adoptive parents.
The year 2015 saw 
a moment of transition 
in the adoption process 
with the introduction 
of the Central Adoption 
Resource Authority 
(CARA). CARA is an 
autonomous and statutory 
body of MoWCD under 
the Government of 
India. The system acts 
as a centralised digital 
database of adoptable 
children and prospective 
parents. It functions 
as the nodal body for 
the adoption of Indian 
children and is mandated 
to monitor and regulate 
There needs to be a 
huge readjustment in the 
Government’s focus on child 
development because currently, 
millions of children are being 
denied opportunities to live a 
life of safety and good health. 
Adoption rates in India have 
always been low, but they have 
been dropping in the past few 
years. 
YOJANA   May 2022 25
in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA is 
designated as the Central Authority to deal with  
inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions 
of the 1993 Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 
ratified by the Government of India in 2003. It primarily 
deals with the adoption of “orphaned, abandoned and 
surrendered” children through recognised adoption 
agencies. In 2018, CARA allowed individuals in a  
live-in relationship to adopt children from and within 
India. Although the main focus of the CARA mechanism 
is to quicken the process of adoption, the waiting period 
is growing longer.
Adoption practices in India are primarily governed 
by the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 
1956 (HAMA) and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection 
of Children) Act, 2000 (JJ Act). Both legislations have 
different provisions and objectives. HAMA is the 
statute that governs the adoption of and by Hindus. The 
definition of ‘Hindus’ here includes 
Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. It gives 
an adoptive child all the rights of a 
naturally-born child, including the 
right to inheritance.
Until the JJ Act, the Guardians 
and Wards Act (GWA), 1980, was 
the only means for non-Hindu 
individuals to become guardians 
of children. However, since the 
GWA appoints individuals as legal 
guardians and not natural parents, 
guardianship is terminated once the 
ward turns 21 and the ward assumes 
individual identity. 
Stakeholders in Adoption Process
1. Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)— 
CARA ensures smooth functioning of the adoption 
process from time to time, issues Adoption 
Guidelines laying down procedures and processes to 
be followed by different stakeholders of the adoption 
programme.
2. State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA)— SARA 
acts as a nodal body within the State to promote 
and monitor adoption and non-institutional care in 
coordination with CARA.
3. Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA)— SAA 
is recognised by the State government under  
sub-Section 4 of Section 41 of the Act for the purpose 
of placing children in adoption.
4. Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA)— 
AFAA is recognised as a foreign social or child 
welfare agency that is authorised by CARA on the 
recommendation of the concerned Central Authority 
or Government Department of that country for 
coordinating all matters relating to adoption of an 
Indian child by a citizen of that country.
5. District Child Protection Unit (DCPU)— DCPU is a 
unit set up by the State government at district level 
under Section 61A of the Act. It identifies orphan, 
abandoned, and surrendered children in the district 
and gets them declared legally-free for adoption by 
Child Welfare Committee.
Of the 30 million children without a legal guardian or 
care, less than half a million are actually in institutionalised 
care. The rest are left wandering on the streets, vulnerable 
to abuse and trafficking. With so few children actually 
in care homes, most orphans are not ‘available’ for legal 
adoption. Even then, prospective parents are choosy, with 
most wanting a child without a disability and between 
the age of 0-2 years old. There are several threats facing 
orphans in India, especially for those 
who live on the streets. One of the 
biggest risks is exploitation. As per the 
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection 
of Children) Act, 2015, orphan and 
destitute children in the country 
are “Children in need of care and 
protection” (CNCP). The primary 
responsibility of execution of the Act 
lies with the States/UTs. The MoWCD 
is implementing a centrally sponsored 
Child Protection Services (CPS) 
Scheme (erstwhile Integrated Child 
Protection Scheme) for supporting 
the children in difficult circumstances. 
The primary responsibility of 
CARA is an autonomous and 
statutory body of MoWCD 
under the Government of India. 
The system acts as a centralised 
digital database of adoptable 
children and prospective 
parents. It functions as the 
nodal body for the adoption of 
Indian children and is mandated 
to monitor and regulate  
in-country and inter-country 
adoptions.
Page 4


YOJANA   May 2022 23
India is one of the youngest countries in the world— it is projected that till 2050, half of the world’s 
population growth will come from nine countries including India. For any country, children are 
the future capital, an asset that needs to be nurtured if the demographic dividend is to be truly 
reaped. Since the pandemic struck in 2020, thousands of children have been orphaned. Policies 
may be reviewed for the 30 million orphaned and abandoned children, and bring them into 
focus by urgently realigning its childcare policies.
Safeguarding Children 
Sameera Saurabh
The author is Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME, GoI. She has worked for Social Sector and Development Agenda of G20 and specialises 
in Developmental Economics. Email: sameera.saurabh@gmail.com. 
futuRe cApIt Al major part of India’s population— around 
158 million consists of children in the age 
group of 0-6 years.
1 
India is home to 472 
million children upto the age of 18 years and 
comprising 39 per cent of the country’s population. There 
are roughly 30 million orphaned and abandoned children 
in India––  that’s almost 4% of the youth population. 
According to the United Nations Children’s 
Fund (UNICEF), India has 29.6 million orphaned and 
abandoned children. However, figures provided by 
private organisations showed that in 2017, of these 30 
million children, there were only 470,000 children in the 
institutionalised care. And, of these, roughly half a million 
children, only a fraction finds their way into family care 
A
because adoption rates in India are abysmally low. This 
means that there needs to be a huge readjustment in the 
Government’s focus on child development, as currently, 
millions of children are being denied opportunities to live 
a life of safety and good health.
Adoption rates in India have always been low, but 
they have been dropping in the past few years. The 
Government’s Central Adoption Resource Authority 
(CARA) statistics show that in 2010, there were 5,693  
in-country adoptions, while in 2017-2018, there were only 
3,276 in-country adoptions. This fall occured because out 
of approximately 30 million children abandoned, only 
261,000 are under institutionalised care, accounting for 
a meagre 0.87%. 
FOCUS
24 YOJANA   May 2022
Data shows that while more than 
29,000 prospective parents are willing 
to adopt, just 2,317 to 3,000 children 
are available for adoption. Adoption 
laws in India are strict, leading to 
exceptionally low numbers of adoptions 
taking place. From March 2019-2020, 
only 3,351 children were adopted. This 
suggests a wide gap between adoptable 
children and prospective parents, which 
may increase the length of the whole 
process. The reasons for low levels of 
adoption in India are manifold.
Firstly, there aren’t enough children 
available for adoption because the ratio 
of abandoned children to children in institutionalised 
care is lopsided. Seeing children on the streets is the most 
common sight in India. The District Child Protection 
Officer should be taking the street children to a Child 
Care Institution (CCI), and if their parents aren’t found, 
then they should be placed for adoption.
The National Commission for Protection of Child 
Rights (NCPCR) data shows that there are 5,850 registered 
CCIs in India. But if unregistered ones are included in 
the basket, there are more than 8,000 such functioning 
institutions, and as per regulations, only registered CCIs 
can be linked to adoption agencies. Further, it says 
that there are 2,32,937 children in all registered and 
unregistered CCIs. However, not all CCIs in India are 
registered under the law. Including unregistered ones, 
there are a total of 8,000 CCIs. Children in unregistered 
institutions are vulnerable to poor care, physical violence, 
sexual abuse, and trafficking. The Government should 
also devote greater resources on setting up more CCIs 
along with a strategy to move millions of children off the 
streets to institutionalised care and a 
supportive family. This can happen 
if the Government pushes its focus, 
money, and resources towards shutting 
down unregistered CCIs, holding  
district-level childcare officers 
accountable, and running a country-
wide campaign on adoption as 
another means of having a child.
Disability and Adoption
In January 2020, CARA held 
a national consensus to discuss 
the possibility of improving and 
streamlining the adoption process. 
Among other points of discussion, it stated that the 
institution prepared a classification of children with 
special needs, spanning 14 sub-categories.
The categorisation would enable prospective 
adoptive parents to understand the children’s needs 
better and enhance their chances of adoption. However, 
according to the latest available data shared by CARA, 
only 40 children with disabilities were adopted between 
2018 and 2019, accounting for approximately 1% of the 
total number of children adopted in the year.
Annual trends reveal that domestic adoptions of 
children with special needs are dwindling with each 
passing year. At the same time, foreigners adopting 
children with special needs is steadily rising since 
prospective adoptive Indian parents faced with a long 
waiting period for a ‘healthy’ baby, end up adopting 
children with disabilities as a last resort. The cultural 
aversion towards children with special needs results 
in most of them being referred to overseas prospective 
adoptive parents.
The year 2015 saw 
a moment of transition 
in the adoption process 
with the introduction 
of the Central Adoption 
Resource Authority 
(CARA). CARA is an 
autonomous and statutory 
body of MoWCD under 
the Government of 
India. The system acts 
as a centralised digital 
database of adoptable 
children and prospective 
parents. It functions 
as the nodal body for 
the adoption of Indian 
children and is mandated 
to monitor and regulate 
There needs to be a 
huge readjustment in the 
Government’s focus on child 
development because currently, 
millions of children are being 
denied opportunities to live a 
life of safety and good health. 
Adoption rates in India have 
always been low, but they have 
been dropping in the past few 
years. 
YOJANA   May 2022 25
in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA is 
designated as the Central Authority to deal with  
inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions 
of the 1993 Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 
ratified by the Government of India in 2003. It primarily 
deals with the adoption of “orphaned, abandoned and 
surrendered” children through recognised adoption 
agencies. In 2018, CARA allowed individuals in a  
live-in relationship to adopt children from and within 
India. Although the main focus of the CARA mechanism 
is to quicken the process of adoption, the waiting period 
is growing longer.
Adoption practices in India are primarily governed 
by the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 
1956 (HAMA) and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection 
of Children) Act, 2000 (JJ Act). Both legislations have 
different provisions and objectives. HAMA is the 
statute that governs the adoption of and by Hindus. The 
definition of ‘Hindus’ here includes 
Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. It gives 
an adoptive child all the rights of a 
naturally-born child, including the 
right to inheritance.
Until the JJ Act, the Guardians 
and Wards Act (GWA), 1980, was 
the only means for non-Hindu 
individuals to become guardians 
of children. However, since the 
GWA appoints individuals as legal 
guardians and not natural parents, 
guardianship is terminated once the 
ward turns 21 and the ward assumes 
individual identity. 
Stakeholders in Adoption Process
1. Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)— 
CARA ensures smooth functioning of the adoption 
process from time to time, issues Adoption 
Guidelines laying down procedures and processes to 
be followed by different stakeholders of the adoption 
programme.
2. State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA)— SARA 
acts as a nodal body within the State to promote 
and monitor adoption and non-institutional care in 
coordination with CARA.
3. Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA)— SAA 
is recognised by the State government under  
sub-Section 4 of Section 41 of the Act for the purpose 
of placing children in adoption.
4. Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA)— 
AFAA is recognised as a foreign social or child 
welfare agency that is authorised by CARA on the 
recommendation of the concerned Central Authority 
or Government Department of that country for 
coordinating all matters relating to adoption of an 
Indian child by a citizen of that country.
5. District Child Protection Unit (DCPU)— DCPU is a 
unit set up by the State government at district level 
under Section 61A of the Act. It identifies orphan, 
abandoned, and surrendered children in the district 
and gets them declared legally-free for adoption by 
Child Welfare Committee.
Of the 30 million children without a legal guardian or 
care, less than half a million are actually in institutionalised 
care. The rest are left wandering on the streets, vulnerable 
to abuse and trafficking. With so few children actually 
in care homes, most orphans are not ‘available’ for legal 
adoption. Even then, prospective parents are choosy, with 
most wanting a child without a disability and between 
the age of 0-2 years old. There are several threats facing 
orphans in India, especially for those 
who live on the streets. One of the 
biggest risks is exploitation. As per the 
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection 
of Children) Act, 2015, orphan and 
destitute children in the country 
are “Children in need of care and 
protection” (CNCP). The primary 
responsibility of execution of the Act 
lies with the States/UTs. The MoWCD 
is implementing a centrally sponsored 
Child Protection Services (CPS) 
Scheme (erstwhile Integrated Child 
Protection Scheme) for supporting 
the children in difficult circumstances. 
The primary responsibility of 
CARA is an autonomous and 
statutory body of MoWCD 
under the Government of India. 
The system acts as a centralised 
digital database of adoptable 
children and prospective 
parents. It functions as the 
nodal body for the adoption of 
Indian children and is mandated 
to monitor and regulate  
in-country and inter-country 
adoptions.
26 YOJANA   May 2022
implementation of the Scheme lies 
with the State Governments/UT 
Administrations. Under the provisions 
of the CPS, the Central Government 
is providing financial assistance to the 
States/UTs for undertaking a situational 
analysis of children in difficult 
circumstances, inter-alia. Under the 
Scheme, institutional care to “Children 
in need of care and protection” and 
“Children in Conflict with Law” is 
provided in CCIs. The Scheme also 
provides for non-institutional care wherein support is 
extended for adoption, foster care and sponsorship.
The financial norms for various components under 
ICPS (now, CPS) were revised wef from 1 April 2014. 
The key features of the revised Scheme included increased 
maintenance grant for children in homes, from Rs 750 to 
Rs 2,000 per child per month. The ICPS was renamed 
as CPS as sub-scheme under Umbrella Integrated Child 
Development Services wef 1 April 2017. Following 
modifications have come into effect pursuant to the said 
order:
1. Maintenance grant for children in homes was 
enhanced to Rs 2,160 per child per month,
2. Sitting allowance of Child Welfare Committee and 
Juvenile Justice Board’s members has been enhanced 
from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 in accordance with new JJ 
Model Rules, 2016, and
3. Programmatic allocation for CHILDLINE India 
Foundation was increased by Rs 9.70 crore to 
address expansion and emerging protection 
needs.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development 
has submitted that Hindu adoption (under HAMA) 
which happens directly between 
relatives does not get to CARA and 
thus data regarding such adoptions 
is not available. In this backdrop, the 
committee has recommended that 
the process of adoption needs to be 
simplified by taking a close relook 
at the various regulations guiding 
the procedure of adoption and the 
Ministry can engage with concerned 
experts working in this field to get 
feedback on the practical difficulties 
which prospective parents are facing.
The panel recommends that the 
issue of children with special needs 
requires special focus in terms of 
highlighting and advocacy at various 
platforms, besides regular sensitising 
of prospective parents for adoption 
of such children. In 2018, a social 
audit report by NCPCR on shelter 
homes had revealed that out of the 
2,874 children’s homes, only 54 
were found to be complying with the  
JJ Act, and out of 185 shelter homes 
which were audited, only 19 had 
records of children residing there.
The Ministry is administering 
various schemes for the welfare, development and 
protection of children. To achieve the above objectives, 
the Union Cabinet has recently approved 3 important 
Umbrella Schemes to be implemented in mission mode. 
i.e., Mission Vatsalya, Mission Poshan 2.0, and Mission 
Shakti.
Mission Vatsalya: In this Mission, Children have 
been recognised by policy makers as one of the supreme 
national assets. The objective is to secure a healthy and 
happy childhood for every child in India; foster a sensitive, 
supportive and synchronised ecosystem for development 
of children; assist States/UTs in delivering the mandate of 
the JJ Act 2015; and achieve the SDG goals.
The prime objective is to address gaps in State 
action for women and children and to promote inter-
ministerial and inter-sectoral convergence to create 
gender equitable and child-centered legislation, policies, 
and programmes.
Mission POSHAN 2.0:  It is an Integrated Nutrition 
Support Programme which seeks to address the challenges 
of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant 
women, and lactating mothers through a strategic shift 
in nutrition content and delivery, and by creation of a 
convergent ecosystem to develop and promote practices 
that nurture health, wellness and 
immunity. It seeks to optimise the 
quality and delivery of food under the 
Supplementary Nutrition Programme.
Under the programme, nutritional 
norms, standards, quality, and 
testing of THR will be improved and 
greater stakeholder and beneficiary 
participation will be promoted 
besides traditional community food 
habits. POSHAN 2.0 will bring three 
important programmes/schemes under 
its ambit, viz., Anganwadi Services, 
Scheme for Adolescent Girls and 
Poshan Abhiyaan.
Mission Shakti: This Scheme 
envisages a unified citizen-centric 
Mission Shakti envisages a 
unified citizen-centric lifecycle 
support for women through 
integrated care, safety, 
protection, rehabilitation, and 
empowerment to unshackle 
women as they progress through 
various stages of their life.
Mission POSHAN 2.0 is an 
Integrated Nutrition Support 
Programme which seeks to 
address the challenges of 
malnutrition in children, 
adolescent girls, pregnant 
women, and lactating mothers 
through a strategic shift in 
nutrition content and delivery, 
and by creation of a convergent 
ecosystem to develop and 
promote practices that nurture 
health, wellness and immunity.
Page 5


YOJANA   May 2022 23
India is one of the youngest countries in the world— it is projected that till 2050, half of the world’s 
population growth will come from nine countries including India. For any country, children are 
the future capital, an asset that needs to be nurtured if the demographic dividend is to be truly 
reaped. Since the pandemic struck in 2020, thousands of children have been orphaned. Policies 
may be reviewed for the 30 million orphaned and abandoned children, and bring them into 
focus by urgently realigning its childcare policies.
Safeguarding Children 
Sameera Saurabh
The author is Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME, GoI. She has worked for Social Sector and Development Agenda of G20 and specialises 
in Developmental Economics. Email: sameera.saurabh@gmail.com. 
futuRe cApIt Al major part of India’s population— around 
158 million consists of children in the age 
group of 0-6 years.
1 
India is home to 472 
million children upto the age of 18 years and 
comprising 39 per cent of the country’s population. There 
are roughly 30 million orphaned and abandoned children 
in India––  that’s almost 4% of the youth population. 
According to the United Nations Children’s 
Fund (UNICEF), India has 29.6 million orphaned and 
abandoned children. However, figures provided by 
private organisations showed that in 2017, of these 30 
million children, there were only 470,000 children in the 
institutionalised care. And, of these, roughly half a million 
children, only a fraction finds their way into family care 
A
because adoption rates in India are abysmally low. This 
means that there needs to be a huge readjustment in the 
Government’s focus on child development, as currently, 
millions of children are being denied opportunities to live 
a life of safety and good health.
Adoption rates in India have always been low, but 
they have been dropping in the past few years. The 
Government’s Central Adoption Resource Authority 
(CARA) statistics show that in 2010, there were 5,693  
in-country adoptions, while in 2017-2018, there were only 
3,276 in-country adoptions. This fall occured because out 
of approximately 30 million children abandoned, only 
261,000 are under institutionalised care, accounting for 
a meagre 0.87%. 
FOCUS
24 YOJANA   May 2022
Data shows that while more than 
29,000 prospective parents are willing 
to adopt, just 2,317 to 3,000 children 
are available for adoption. Adoption 
laws in India are strict, leading to 
exceptionally low numbers of adoptions 
taking place. From March 2019-2020, 
only 3,351 children were adopted. This 
suggests a wide gap between adoptable 
children and prospective parents, which 
may increase the length of the whole 
process. The reasons for low levels of 
adoption in India are manifold.
Firstly, there aren’t enough children 
available for adoption because the ratio 
of abandoned children to children in institutionalised 
care is lopsided. Seeing children on the streets is the most 
common sight in India. The District Child Protection 
Officer should be taking the street children to a Child 
Care Institution (CCI), and if their parents aren’t found, 
then they should be placed for adoption.
The National Commission for Protection of Child 
Rights (NCPCR) data shows that there are 5,850 registered 
CCIs in India. But if unregistered ones are included in 
the basket, there are more than 8,000 such functioning 
institutions, and as per regulations, only registered CCIs 
can be linked to adoption agencies. Further, it says 
that there are 2,32,937 children in all registered and 
unregistered CCIs. However, not all CCIs in India are 
registered under the law. Including unregistered ones, 
there are a total of 8,000 CCIs. Children in unregistered 
institutions are vulnerable to poor care, physical violence, 
sexual abuse, and trafficking. The Government should 
also devote greater resources on setting up more CCIs 
along with a strategy to move millions of children off the 
streets to institutionalised care and a 
supportive family. This can happen 
if the Government pushes its focus, 
money, and resources towards shutting 
down unregistered CCIs, holding  
district-level childcare officers 
accountable, and running a country-
wide campaign on adoption as 
another means of having a child.
Disability and Adoption
In January 2020, CARA held 
a national consensus to discuss 
the possibility of improving and 
streamlining the adoption process. 
Among other points of discussion, it stated that the 
institution prepared a classification of children with 
special needs, spanning 14 sub-categories.
The categorisation would enable prospective 
adoptive parents to understand the children’s needs 
better and enhance their chances of adoption. However, 
according to the latest available data shared by CARA, 
only 40 children with disabilities were adopted between 
2018 and 2019, accounting for approximately 1% of the 
total number of children adopted in the year.
Annual trends reveal that domestic adoptions of 
children with special needs are dwindling with each 
passing year. At the same time, foreigners adopting 
children with special needs is steadily rising since 
prospective adoptive Indian parents faced with a long 
waiting period for a ‘healthy’ baby, end up adopting 
children with disabilities as a last resort. The cultural 
aversion towards children with special needs results 
in most of them being referred to overseas prospective 
adoptive parents.
The year 2015 saw 
a moment of transition 
in the adoption process 
with the introduction 
of the Central Adoption 
Resource Authority 
(CARA). CARA is an 
autonomous and statutory 
body of MoWCD under 
the Government of 
India. The system acts 
as a centralised digital 
database of adoptable 
children and prospective 
parents. It functions 
as the nodal body for 
the adoption of Indian 
children and is mandated 
to monitor and regulate 
There needs to be a 
huge readjustment in the 
Government’s focus on child 
development because currently, 
millions of children are being 
denied opportunities to live a 
life of safety and good health. 
Adoption rates in India have 
always been low, but they have 
been dropping in the past few 
years. 
YOJANA   May 2022 25
in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA is 
designated as the Central Authority to deal with  
inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions 
of the 1993 Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 
ratified by the Government of India in 2003. It primarily 
deals with the adoption of “orphaned, abandoned and 
surrendered” children through recognised adoption 
agencies. In 2018, CARA allowed individuals in a  
live-in relationship to adopt children from and within 
India. Although the main focus of the CARA mechanism 
is to quicken the process of adoption, the waiting period 
is growing longer.
Adoption practices in India are primarily governed 
by the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 
1956 (HAMA) and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection 
of Children) Act, 2000 (JJ Act). Both legislations have 
different provisions and objectives. HAMA is the 
statute that governs the adoption of and by Hindus. The 
definition of ‘Hindus’ here includes 
Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. It gives 
an adoptive child all the rights of a 
naturally-born child, including the 
right to inheritance.
Until the JJ Act, the Guardians 
and Wards Act (GWA), 1980, was 
the only means for non-Hindu 
individuals to become guardians 
of children. However, since the 
GWA appoints individuals as legal 
guardians and not natural parents, 
guardianship is terminated once the 
ward turns 21 and the ward assumes 
individual identity. 
Stakeholders in Adoption Process
1. Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)— 
CARA ensures smooth functioning of the adoption 
process from time to time, issues Adoption 
Guidelines laying down procedures and processes to 
be followed by different stakeholders of the adoption 
programme.
2. State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA)— SARA 
acts as a nodal body within the State to promote 
and monitor adoption and non-institutional care in 
coordination with CARA.
3. Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA)— SAA 
is recognised by the State government under  
sub-Section 4 of Section 41 of the Act for the purpose 
of placing children in adoption.
4. Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA)— 
AFAA is recognised as a foreign social or child 
welfare agency that is authorised by CARA on the 
recommendation of the concerned Central Authority 
or Government Department of that country for 
coordinating all matters relating to adoption of an 
Indian child by a citizen of that country.
5. District Child Protection Unit (DCPU)— DCPU is a 
unit set up by the State government at district level 
under Section 61A of the Act. It identifies orphan, 
abandoned, and surrendered children in the district 
and gets them declared legally-free for adoption by 
Child Welfare Committee.
Of the 30 million children without a legal guardian or 
care, less than half a million are actually in institutionalised 
care. The rest are left wandering on the streets, vulnerable 
to abuse and trafficking. With so few children actually 
in care homes, most orphans are not ‘available’ for legal 
adoption. Even then, prospective parents are choosy, with 
most wanting a child without a disability and between 
the age of 0-2 years old. There are several threats facing 
orphans in India, especially for those 
who live on the streets. One of the 
biggest risks is exploitation. As per the 
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection 
of Children) Act, 2015, orphan and 
destitute children in the country 
are “Children in need of care and 
protection” (CNCP). The primary 
responsibility of execution of the Act 
lies with the States/UTs. The MoWCD 
is implementing a centrally sponsored 
Child Protection Services (CPS) 
Scheme (erstwhile Integrated Child 
Protection Scheme) for supporting 
the children in difficult circumstances. 
The primary responsibility of 
CARA is an autonomous and 
statutory body of MoWCD 
under the Government of India. 
The system acts as a centralised 
digital database of adoptable 
children and prospective 
parents. It functions as the 
nodal body for the adoption of 
Indian children and is mandated 
to monitor and regulate  
in-country and inter-country 
adoptions.
26 YOJANA   May 2022
implementation of the Scheme lies 
with the State Governments/UT 
Administrations. Under the provisions 
of the CPS, the Central Government 
is providing financial assistance to the 
States/UTs for undertaking a situational 
analysis of children in difficult 
circumstances, inter-alia. Under the 
Scheme, institutional care to “Children 
in need of care and protection” and 
“Children in Conflict with Law” is 
provided in CCIs. The Scheme also 
provides for non-institutional care wherein support is 
extended for adoption, foster care and sponsorship.
The financial norms for various components under 
ICPS (now, CPS) were revised wef from 1 April 2014. 
The key features of the revised Scheme included increased 
maintenance grant for children in homes, from Rs 750 to 
Rs 2,000 per child per month. The ICPS was renamed 
as CPS as sub-scheme under Umbrella Integrated Child 
Development Services wef 1 April 2017. Following 
modifications have come into effect pursuant to the said 
order:
1. Maintenance grant for children in homes was 
enhanced to Rs 2,160 per child per month,
2. Sitting allowance of Child Welfare Committee and 
Juvenile Justice Board’s members has been enhanced 
from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 in accordance with new JJ 
Model Rules, 2016, and
3. Programmatic allocation for CHILDLINE India 
Foundation was increased by Rs 9.70 crore to 
address expansion and emerging protection 
needs.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development 
has submitted that Hindu adoption (under HAMA) 
which happens directly between 
relatives does not get to CARA and 
thus data regarding such adoptions 
is not available. In this backdrop, the 
committee has recommended that 
the process of adoption needs to be 
simplified by taking a close relook 
at the various regulations guiding 
the procedure of adoption and the 
Ministry can engage with concerned 
experts working in this field to get 
feedback on the practical difficulties 
which prospective parents are facing.
The panel recommends that the 
issue of children with special needs 
requires special focus in terms of 
highlighting and advocacy at various 
platforms, besides regular sensitising 
of prospective parents for adoption 
of such children. In 2018, a social 
audit report by NCPCR on shelter 
homes had revealed that out of the 
2,874 children’s homes, only 54 
were found to be complying with the  
JJ Act, and out of 185 shelter homes 
which were audited, only 19 had 
records of children residing there.
The Ministry is administering 
various schemes for the welfare, development and 
protection of children. To achieve the above objectives, 
the Union Cabinet has recently approved 3 important 
Umbrella Schemes to be implemented in mission mode. 
i.e., Mission Vatsalya, Mission Poshan 2.0, and Mission 
Shakti.
Mission Vatsalya: In this Mission, Children have 
been recognised by policy makers as one of the supreme 
national assets. The objective is to secure a healthy and 
happy childhood for every child in India; foster a sensitive, 
supportive and synchronised ecosystem for development 
of children; assist States/UTs in delivering the mandate of 
the JJ Act 2015; and achieve the SDG goals.
The prime objective is to address gaps in State 
action for women and children and to promote inter-
ministerial and inter-sectoral convergence to create 
gender equitable and child-centered legislation, policies, 
and programmes.
Mission POSHAN 2.0:  It is an Integrated Nutrition 
Support Programme which seeks to address the challenges 
of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant 
women, and lactating mothers through a strategic shift 
in nutrition content and delivery, and by creation of a 
convergent ecosystem to develop and promote practices 
that nurture health, wellness and 
immunity. It seeks to optimise the 
quality and delivery of food under the 
Supplementary Nutrition Programme.
Under the programme, nutritional 
norms, standards, quality, and 
testing of THR will be improved and 
greater stakeholder and beneficiary 
participation will be promoted 
besides traditional community food 
habits. POSHAN 2.0 will bring three 
important programmes/schemes under 
its ambit, viz., Anganwadi Services, 
Scheme for Adolescent Girls and 
Poshan Abhiyaan.
Mission Shakti: This Scheme 
envisages a unified citizen-centric 
Mission Shakti envisages a 
unified citizen-centric lifecycle 
support for women through 
integrated care, safety, 
protection, rehabilitation, and 
empowerment to unshackle 
women as they progress through 
various stages of their life.
Mission POSHAN 2.0 is an 
Integrated Nutrition Support 
Programme which seeks to 
address the challenges of 
malnutrition in children, 
adolescent girls, pregnant 
women, and lactating mothers 
through a strategic shift in 
nutrition content and delivery, 
and by creation of a convergent 
ecosystem to develop and 
promote practices that nurture 
health, wellness and immunity.
YOJANA   May 2022 27
lifecycle support for women through integrated care, 
safety, protection, rehabilitation, and empowerment 
to unshackle women as they progress through various 
stages of their life. Mission Shakti has two sub-
schemes ‘Sambal’ and ‘Samarthya’. 
The Sambal sub-scheme consists of the existing 
scheme of One Stop Centre (OSC), 181 Women Helplines 
(WHL), and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP). Besides, 
a new component of Nari Adalats has been added as 
women’s collectives to promote and facilitate alternative 
dispute resolution and gender justice in society and 
within families. The “Samarthya’’ sub scheme is for 
empowerment of women, consisting of existing schemes 
of Ujjwala, Swadhar Greh, and Working Women Hostel. 
In addition, the National Creche Scheme for Children of 
Working Mothers and the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana 
Yojana (PMMVY), which have been under the Umbrella 
ICDS Scheme till now, are also subsumed in ‘Samarthya’.
All the three Missions will be implemented during 
the 15
th
 Finance Commission period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
The PM CARES for Children Scheme was launched 
on 29 May 2021 to support children who have lost both 
the parents or legal guardian or adoptive parents or 
surviving parent to Covid-19 during the period starting 
from 11 March 2020. The objective of the Scheme is to 
ensure comprehensive care and protection of children in 
a sustained manner, and enable their well-being through 
health insurance, empower them through education, and 
equip them for self-sufficient existence with financial 
support. The PM CARES for Children Scheme inter-alia 
provides support to these children through convergent 
approach, gap funding for ensuring education, health, 
monthly stipend from the age of 18 years, and lumpsum 
amount of Rs 10 lakh on attaining 23 years of age.
Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya 
Yojana (PM-JAY)
 PM-JAY provides a cover of Rs 5 lakhs per family 
per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation, 
across public and private empanelled hospitals in India.  
In case of child identified for support under PM 
CARES for Children, he/she shall be entitled to the cover 
of Rs 5 lakh.
The Government strives to ensure well-nourished 
and happy children and self-reliant women by providing 
them with an environment which is accessible, affordable, 
reliable and free from all forms of discrimination and 
violence.                                                                            ?
Reference
1. 2011 Census Data.
YE-1846/2022