While there was a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest official data, there has been a continued positive trend, with record 4,515 child adoptions in FY 2024-25, the highest since 2015-16.
A couple from Arizona, USA adopted a 15-month-old baby from Dhanbad in Jharkhand. Credit: iStock Photo New Delhi: Neeraj's (name changed) note to his mother was simple yet profound: "I love you Mom because you take me out to play." Neeraj's words have been the culmination of a journey that began four years earlier, when he was born with a condition called "knock knees" and left at a Child Care Institution just a day old. He was put up for adoption, and for years, families hesitated, often discouraged by his medical condition.
2021, when a couple saw him not as a problem to be solved, but as "their child." Since then, Neeraj's life has transformed. His new parents enrolled him in swimming lessons to help with his legs, took him for regular check-ups, and showered him with love. Today, he is thriving, learning to swim, acting in school plays, and mastering parkour
Neeraj's journey is not an isolated one
In India, there has been a noticeable surge in adoption numbers over the past decade, with their number increasing from 3,677 in 2015-16 to 4,027 in 2018-19.
While there was a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest ofcial data, there has been a continued positive trend, with record 4,515 child adoptions in FY 2024-25, the highest since 2015-16
As of the current nancial year, 420 children have already been adopted from the Orphan/Abandoned/Surrendered (OAS) category.
Of these, 342 children were adopted by Resident Indian (RI) parents, eight by Non-Resident Indians (NRI), six by Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), and 11 by foreigners.