Easing way

Adoption of children, which hitherto has been a tedious and opaque process in India, is poised to become easier. The government has launched the Central Adoption Resource and Guidance System (CARINGS) to facilitate the adoption process. It has set up an online database of children available for adoption and of prospective parents. Parents who have registered for adoption can view progress of their application online. They can alert authorities if their papers are not moving as fast as they should. Once matched with a child, they can keep track of her health status and other details too. Importantly, the government will also closely monitor the work of adoption agencies. Adoption agencies will have to register with the government and failure to do so will result in cancellation of their license. In the name of tough procedure, the existing system imposed obstacles in the way of couples keen to adopt. In the process, thousands of children living in orphanages were denied a loving home. Parents who have gone through the adoption process often complain of the agonising wait they had to endure and the bribes they had to pay before they got their child. That could now change with CARINGS in place.

Adoptions in the country are growing. There were 6,286 adoptions in 2010 compared with 2,518 the previous year. Yet this is a shockingly low figure, especially when one considers the large numbers of orphaned children in the country. There are millions of children on the streets too. While not all of them are orphans, a sizeable number are separated from their parents and lack the comforting environment that a family provides.

Indians are shaking off many of their inhibitions on adoption. In the past, they adopted only when they did not have a biological child. The adopted child was usually from the family, ie the child of a cousin or a brother. Besides, only couples adopted. Nowadays, couples with children are adopting as are single men and women. However, prejudices persist. Healthy, fair, male children continue to be preferred. Girls are often ignored. Unlike in the west, where couples are open to adopting children with special needs, here in India such children almost always are never adopted. There are obstacles to adoption that exist in our minds, which must be removed. The government must facilitate the elimination of outdated social attitudes on adoption as well.