Central Adoption Resource Authority

About Central Adoption Resource Authority

• It is a statutory body of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
• It is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003.
• Function:
  • It is the nodal body regulating the adoption of “orphaned, surrendered and abandoned children” in India. 
  • It monitors and regulates bodies such as the State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA), Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA), Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA), Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and District Child Protective Units (DPUs).
• In India, a child can be placed with a family under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956, Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 and Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.
• The mandatory registration of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and linking to CARA has been provided in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption

• The Convention provides safeguards for children and families involved in adoptions between participating countries and also works to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children.
• This section contains resources about the Convention for professionals involved in intercountry adoption.
• Objectives:
  • To protect children and their families against illegal or ill-prepared Inter-Country adoptions.
  • To prevent the abduction, the sale of, or trafficking of children.
• The Convention establishes minimum standards, but does not intend to serve as a uniform law of adoption.

Q1) What is a statutory body?

These are organizations created by an Act of Parliament. These are also termed non-constitutional bodies that make rules & regulations and take decisions on behalf of the government. 

Source: All about CARA, India’s adoption regulation body