India recorded its highest number of adoptions in more than a decade in FY26, with 5,022 children finding families between April 2025 and March 2026, according to data from the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). The increase comes despite persistent challenges, including a long waiting list of nearly 26,000 prospective adoptive parents and a limited number of children in the highly sought-after 0-2 years age group.
Of the total adoptions in FY26, 4,603 were domestic, while 419 were inter-country adoptions. In comparison, 4,515 children were adopted in FY25.
CARA data shows adoption numbers have steadily improved over the past decade. Total adoptions stood at 3,677 in 2015-16 and crossed the 4,000 mark for the first time in 2018-19. The numbers dipped during the pandemic before recovering to above 4,000 in 2023-24 and reaching a decade-high in FY26.
The adoption pool, however, continues to be skewed towards children with special needs. Around 80% of children declared legally free for adoption and available with Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) fall under the special needs category.
According to CARA, 392 special needs children were adopted during FY26, up nearly 25% from 313 in the previous year.
CARA Chief Executive Officer Bhavna Saxena attributed the rise in adoptions to targeted interventions aimed at reducing procedural delays.
She said CARA's "identification cell" has been working closely with Specialised Adoption Agencies and Child Welfare Committees to ensure eligible children are declared legally free for adoption without unnecessary delays.
Of the 5,022 children adopted during the year, 2,756 were girls, 2,263 were boys and three were classified under the "others" category. The number of girls adopted rose 8% from 2,554 in FY25, continuing a long-standing trend where more girls are adopted than boys.
Officials said the higher number of girl adoptions reflects both changing societal attitudes among prospective adoptive parents and the fact that more girls enter adoption agencies and orphanages, making them more readily available for adoption.
CARA has also stepped up efforts to encourage families to adopt children with special needs through awareness programmes and counselling.
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"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 said.
The authority also reported a sharp increase in adoptions by relatives and step-parents, which rose 50% year-on-year from 820 to 1,231.
To strengthen the adoption ecosystem, Saxena said 118 new Child Welfare Committees were constituted and 52 new Specialised Adoption Agencies were registered over the past year. Since July 2024, a total of 266 new SAAs have been registered and activated across the country.
(With TOI inputs)
