NEW DELHI: As many as 2,768 children are currently awaiting adoption across the country, with West Bengal reporting the highest number of pendencies, followed by Uttar Pradesh, government data shows.Despite the Adoption Regulation, 2022 stipulating timelines for authorities and agencies regarding adoption matters, child adoption is taking longer as it involves different stakeholders, officials pointed out.According to data from Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), a nodal body for adoption of Indian children, which is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions, West Bengal has the highest pendency with 352 adoption cases.It is followed by Uttar Pradesh (318), Odisha (262), Maharashtra (250), Telangana (201), Bihar (196), Delhi (176), and Madhya Pradesh (139).Officials said the referral and adoption of a child depends upon the preference made by the Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) regarding age, health condition, and state of the child during online registration on the CARINGS portal – and thus leads to inordinate delay on occasions.To avoid pendency, the Centre has notified the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021), which empowers the District Magistrate to effectively coordinate and monitor the functions of agencies responsible for implementation of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act which include adoption-related matters.The functionaries of States and Union Territories implement the JJ Act through institutions like State Adoption Resource Agencies, local Child Welfare Committees and District Child Protection Units (DCPUs), officials said, adding the entire adoption process is online and transparent through the CARINGS portal.Moreover, CARA regularly holds training sessions, including weekly virtual refresher programmes that are accessible nationwide to promote and facilitate adoption, they said.In financial year 2024-25, India was able to register a record 4,515 adoptions. Officials said this was the highest in the past 12 years. Out of the total adoptions in the period, 3,950 were domestic, while 565 were international adoptions.
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