Over 5,000 child adoptions took place in India between April 2025 and March 2026, marking the
highest yearly figure in over 10 years, based on data from the country’s Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).

Key Takeaways:

• 5,022 children were adopted between April 2025 and March 2026.

• The children in highest demand were newborns and toddlers.

• 392 children with special needs were adopted — a 25% increase from the prior year.

• Demand for adoption remains high, with the number of waiting couples higher than that of available children.

The Details:

According to The Times of India, around 26,000 people are waiting to adopt, while the number of children available through adoption agencies remains limited, especially among babies ages 0 to 2.

Between April 2025 and March 2026, 4,603 of all adoptions were within India, while 419 were placements across national borders. The number of adoptees with special needs has also risen; 392 children with special needs were adopted in the last year, a 25% increase from the 313 adopted in 2024–25.

CARA’s data reveals that adoption numbers have varied over time, with 3,677 adoptions documented in 2015–16. For the first time, the total rose above 4,000 in 2018–19, before dipping during the COVID-19 pandemic. The numbers subsequently recovered in 2023–24, again outpacing the 4,000 threshold.

At present, prospective adoptive parents seeking infants and younger children have an average wait of about three years, while older children and those with special needs persist in remaining in the adoption pool.

Additionally, out of 5,022 adoptions, 2,756 were girls, an increase of 8% from the previous year, reflecting a continuing pattern in which girls are more often available for placement.

Officials say attitudes are evolving, with more prospective parents now open to adopting girls. This shift is partly associated with the larger number of girls in orphanages and adoption centers.

Zoom In:

As reported by the Times of India, Bhavna Saxena, the CEO of CARA, said the latest uptick in adoptions stemmed from closer coordination with specialized adoption agencies and child welfare committees. She added that CARA’s identification cell has helped speed up the process of making children legally available for adoption.

Saxena also zoomed in on the need to build greater awareness around children with special needs, pointing out that regional consultations have helped encourage families to consider them. Meanwhile, adoptions by relatives and step-parents have climbed sharply, snowballing from 820 to 1,231, an increase of 50%.

To reinforce the adoption system, CARA set up 118 additional child welfare committees, and brought 52 new specialized agencies onto its register over the past year. Since July 2024, a further 266 SAAs have been enrolled and made operational, broadening India’s adoption network.

“We began holding regional consultations last year and found that they encouraged parents to think more seriously about children with special needs. This year, we plan to expand that outreach further,” Saxena said. “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."

The Bottom Line:

For pro-life advocates, adoption cannot be separated from the broader duty to support mothers, families, and children before unplanned pregnancies result in abortions or child relinquishment as default responses. A culture that celebrates adoption should also work to make adoption less necessary by strengthening family life, helping struggling mothers, and making it easier to choose life in the first place.

Additionally, it is noteworthy that adoption unravels the reality that is typically sidelined in abortion debates — that every child is a person, not a problem. The same child who might be treated as disposable before birth can become the center of another family’s joy, hope, and sacrifice after birth.

Adoption reminds us that children are not liabilities to be dealt with, but lives to be protected and prioritized. A child’s life has value even when that child is unable to remain with his or her birth parents.