Manish Kumar
Post News Network
New Delhi, August 8: Orissa is gradually turning into one of three major destinations for domestic adoptions in the country.
According to data from the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), 800 children were adopted by Indian parents between April and June this year while 102 persons from other countries succeeded in adopting Indian kids.
The data claims that Maharashtra is leading with 159 adoptions, followed by Bengal (72), Orissa (51), Madhya Pradesh (50) and Karnataka (44). The figures substantiate that Orissa is among of the three leading states in terms of child adoption rate in the country.
Child rights activists, however, claim it takes eight to 11 months for a child to be legally adopted but the revised adoption guidelines of 2015 facilitate quicker adoption procedures online.
The new norms have simplified the whole adoption procedure in the country. The online process helps create a central repository of data which enables applicants to trace the status of the application. Earlier, the process was governed by the 2011 adoption guidelines issued by CARA which has been overhauled. The Union ministry of women and child development has revised the guidelines governing adoption which came into effect August 1, 2015.
According to adoption workers, the new system has put in place a clear and transparent procedure for registration of resident Indians and gives the prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) a chance to apply online and also to upload relevant documents while doing away with the requirement of physically visiting offices and filing applications.
Meanwhile, the revised norms provide PAPs the option to select adoption agency for conducting home study report and also the state. In order to encourage inter-state adoptions, CARA has clarified that no permission of State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA) is required for domestic adoptions within the country.