India has over 3 crore orphans, yet only around 3,000 are legally free for adoption. Why is there such a massive gap between children in need and families eager to adopt?
In this episode of The Data Point, we examine India’s adoption crisis, using official data, expert interviews, and state-wise breakdowns.
While a significant number of parents are willing to adopt, only a limited number of children are legally cleared for adoption. This imbalance has not gone unnoticed. It has even been called a ‘paradoxical situation’ by a parliamentary committee in 2022.
Data and discussions point out that systemic delays, poor implementation and legal ambiguities are keeping thousands of children stuck in Child Care Institutions. In fact, some states report hundreds of children in care but barely a handful available for adoption — raising questions about governance and accountability.
Read more: For every child free for adoption in India, 13 parents wait in line: Data
Presentation and editing: Sambavi Parthasarathy
Scripting and data support: Vignesh Radhakrishnan
Camera: Shivaraj S
Published – July 29, 2025 01:01 pm IST