Indian children are increasingly being adopted by the richest countries. Inter-country adoption, in fact, is a highly profitable

Adoption fulfils two of man's deepest needs - the craving for parenthood and a child's desire to belong.

Add to that the pressures of the 21st century and it is not surprising that Indian children are increasingly being adopted by the richest countries. Inter-country adoption, in fact, is a highly profitable business.

In the US and Denmark, the number of Indian children being adopted has grown in the past few years. In 1999-2000, the traffic to the US more than doubled and increased by a third to Denmark.

Since 1969, 15 per cent of adoptions by the Swedish agency Adoptions Centrum were from India. India follows Colombia and Philippines in the number of children being adopted by Norwegians since 1972.

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