Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is an autonomous and statutory body of Ministry of Women and Child Development in the Government of India.[1] It was set up in 1990. It is a statutory body underJuvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. It functions as the nodal body for the adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the 1993 Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, ratified by Government of India in 2003.[2]
India has multiple adoption laws. Traditionally, the 1956 Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA), adoption, subject to the requirements and rigors of the Act, is available in India to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, and others subject to Hindu family law or custom. For others, the 1890 Guardians and Wards Act applies, but which provides only guardianship, not adoption, for those not subject to Hindu family law or custom. CARA primarily deals with the adoption of "orphaned, abandoned and surrendered" children through recognised adoption agencies. In 2018, CARA has allowed individuals in a live-in relationship to adopt children from and within India.[3]