SYLLABUS

GS 2: Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the Population; Statutory, Regulatory and various Quasi-judicial Bodies.

Context: Recently, the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has issued three directives to States and UTs to strengthen adoption procedures, safeguard records, and protect children’s identity.

More on the News

• The office memorandums have been issued to all State Adoption Resource Agencies (SARAs) in accordance with the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021) and the Adoption Regulations, 2022.
• Objective: To strengthen transparency, accountability, and child protection within the adoption ecosystem, while safeguarding the rights, dignity, and privacy of children and adoptees across the country.

New Directives of the CARA

• First Office Memorandum: Stresses on strict adherence to legal procedures and timelines before declaring a child free for adoption.
  o No orphan or abandoned child can be declared legally free without proper inquiry, tracing of biological parents, restoration efforts, and completion of all statutory steps.
  o For surrendered children, a mandatory 2-month reconsideration period must be followed before adoption.
• Second Office Memorandum: It clarifies the policy regarding the safekeeping, maintenance, and transfer of records of children and adoptees.
  o It addresses the challenges faced by adult adoptees in accessing information about their origins through the root search process under the Adoption Regulations, 2022.
  o States and UTs will ensure the secure preservation and transfer of all physical and digital records to the designated authority for long-term safekeeping of records to facilitate root search by adoptees in the future.
• Third Office Memorandum: States and UTs are directed to ensure strict compliance with Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which bars disclosure of the identity of children in conflict with law or in need of care and protection.
  o No photographs, videos, or identifying particulars of children residing in the Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) or Child Care Institutions (CCIs) will be disclosed.

About Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)

• It is a statutory body (Section 68 of the JJ Act made the CARA a statutory body) under the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
• It is the Nodal body for the adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
• It is the Central Body in India which follows the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by the Government of India in 2003 for inter-country adoptions.
• It primarily deals with the adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated /recognised adoption agencies.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.

Sources:
PIB
CARA WCD