Adoptions cross 3000 mark

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 12. For the first time, the number of adoptions in a calender year has crossed the 3000 mark. As compared to 2800 the year before, more than 3000 adoptions were reported in 2000.

Perceiving this as a reflection of a growing interest in adoptions, sources in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment claimed that streamlining of the procedure by an autonomous body under its control had contributed to the increase. The procedure had been simplified by the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA).

The CARA now takes about a week to clear a proposal for adoption within the country. Earlier, such an exercise took anything between three and four months. The details of `No Objection Certificates' are available on CARA's website which is updated periodically. This has helped the cause of transparency in adoptions.

Inter-country adoption too takes much less time now. It is now possible to comply with all the formalities in less than four months. To facilitate the swift movement of an adopted child to his new home abroad, the Ministry has managed to persuade the Ministry of External Affairs to issue a passport to the child within 10 days under the Tatkal Scheme.

The sources said adoption, which had been confined until recently within the family and among close relatives, had now become a community affair. The number of adoptions is expected to grow manifold and at a faster rate in future.

The CARA's website also offers a range of information about children available for adoption. The site, among other things, also gives information about children with special needs (handicapped and with other medical problems) who are available for adoption.

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Section  : National
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