India saw more than 5,000 child adoptions last year, highest in a decade

India recorded 5,022 child adoptions between April 2025 and March 2026, the highest in over a decade.

Domestic adoptions accounted for 4,603 children, while inter-country adoptions numbered 419.

Adoptions of special needs children rose by 25% to 392, and adoptions of girls increased by 8% to 2,756.

CARA CEO Bhavna Saxena attributed the rise to a focused strategy via CARA's identification cell to reduce delays in declaring children free for adoption.

Nearly 26,000 prospective adoptive parents are waiting, while 80% of available children have special needs.