India Records Highest Child Adoptions In Over A Decade With 5,022 Cases In 2025-26
India Records Highest Child Adoptions In Over A Decade With 5,022 Cases In 2025-26 Published By, Last Updated: July 27, 2026, 07:57 IST Adoptions declined
India Records Highest Child Adoptions In Over A Decade With 5,022 Cases In 2025-26 Published By, Last Updated: July 27, 2026, 07:57 IST Adoptions declined during the COVID-19 pandemic before recovering in 2023-24, when the figure once again crossed 4,000. Rapid Read (Representational Image) A total of 5,022 children were adopted in India between April 2025 and March 2026, the highest annual figure in more than a decade, according to data released by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). The milestone comes despite persistent challenges, including nearly 26,000 prospective adoptive parents waiting for children and a limited number of children in the highly preferred 0-2 years age group. CARA data, available since 2015-16, shows that 4,603 children were adopted within India, while 419 children were adopted through inter-country adoptions. The total number of adoptions stood at 4,515 in 2024-25. At present, around 80% of children declared legally free for adoption and available with Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) fall under the special needs category.
Record High In Decade The number of adoptions was 3,677 in 2015-16 and crossed the 4,000-mark for the first time in 2018-19. Adoptions declined during the COVID-19 pandemic before recovering in 2023-24, when the figure once again crossed 4,000. While infants and very young children entering the adoption pool are usually matched quickly with prospective adoptive parents (PAPs), older children and those with special needs often remain in the system longer. The average waiting period for adopting infants and young children is estimated to be around three years. CARA CEO Bhavna Saxena attributed the rise in adoptions to the authority’s focused efforts to ensure eligible children are declared legally free for adoption without unnecessary delays, the Times of India reported. According to her, CARA’s “identification cell" has been closely following up with specialised adoption agencies and child welfare committees to speed up the process. More Girls Adopted Of the 5,022 children adopted during the year, 2,756 were girls, 2,263 were boys, and three were categorised as ‘others’, according to the CARA database.
Officials said the adoption of girls increased by 8% compared to 2024-25, when 2,554 girls were adopted. They noted that girls have consistently accounted for a higher share of adoptions over the years. According to officials, while the growing preference for adopting girls reflects changing social attitudes, organisations working in the adoption sector also believe the higher numbers are linked to the greater availability of girls in adoption agencies and orphanages. Focus On Special Needs Saxena said CARA has increased efforts to create awareness about adopting children with special needs and to counsel prospective parents who are open to such adoptions. “We started the process of holding regional consultations last year and found that parents were getting encouraged to consider children with special needs. We will be strengthening the outreach this year," Saxena further added. She said 392 special needs children were adopted in 2025-26, an increase of around 25% from 313 adoptions in 2024-25. Adoptions by relatives and step-parents also recorded a significant rise, increasing by 50% from 820 to 1,231 during the same period.
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