Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) | 16 Jul 2024
Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) has warned states and Union Territories of contempt proceedings if they don't establish Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) in every district.
- 370 out of 760 districts in India lack operational SAAs, despite court orders mandating their establishment nationwide.
- This gap has led to a significant disparity between adoption registrations (13,467 in 2023-2024) and actual adoptions (approximately 4,000), mainly due to inadequate infrastructure.
- Only Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, and Chandigarh have fully complied with the SCs’ directive.
- Larger states like Uttar Pradesh face serious challenges, with 61 out of 75 districts lacking SAAs.
- Adoption in India is governed by the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA), 1956 (for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists), and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
- Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is the nodal body regulating the adoption of orphaned, surrendered and abandoned children in India.
- It was set up in 1990 under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- It is signatory to the Hague Convention On Protection of Children and Co-operation of 1993.
- It regulates State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA), SAA, Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA), Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), and District Child Protective Units (DPUs).
