BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has witnessed a rise in child adoption rate in the last one year, with 287 orphaned, abandoned or surrendered children getting adopted in 2024-25.
According to the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, more girls were adopted than boys. While 151 girls were adopted, the number was 136 for boys.
Of them, 259 such children (122 boys and 137 girls) were adopted within the country and 28 (14 boys and as many girls) found parental care outside the country. While Maharashtra had the highest number of children being adopted at 849, Odisha stood fifth in the list after Tamil Nadu (465), West Bengal (328) and Karnataka (306).
In 2023-24, the number of adoptions - both within and outside the country - from Odisha was 259. There are 33 specialised adoption agencies (SAA) under the WCD department in 28 districts through which children are adopted.
Officials said the waiting period for adoption under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act has been significantly brought down compared to the previous years with collectors now having the power to decide on the adoptive parents. The Act mandates that adoption cases should be disposed of within two months of filing of the application by the prospective parents.
However, adoption of children with special needs has still remained low, said activists. This is because differently-abled children require additional support due to physical, developmental and behavioural challenges.
On the flip side, Odisha also has a high number of children in the adoption pool. Earlier, while replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union minister of state for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur had informed that 2,321 children are awaiting adoption across the country.
The highest number of children in the legal adoption pool are in West Bengal at 309, followed by Maharashtra at 261, Odisha at 225, Bihar at 205 and Telangana at 197.
Officials of the State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA) said a majority of the prospective adoptive parents continue to prefer younger children. Children in the age group of 0 to 2 years are most preferred for adoption but a high number of adolescents are in the state’s adoption pool.