Bhubaneswar: With 308 child adoptions in 2025-26, Odisha ranked fifth among the states and Union territories in the country, with girls accounting for a larger share than boys, according to adoption data released recently by Central Adoption Resource Authority (Cara). The data show that 170 girls were adopted from Odisha during 2025-26, accounting for around 55% of the total adoptions, compared to 138 boys.Apart from the orphaned, abandoned or surrendered girls, a large number of children with special needs from the govt-run child care institutions in the state are also finding adoptive families legally, both within India and abroad.The report states that of the total adoptions in the state, 263 were in-country and 45 were inter-country. In fact, the state ranked third in inter-country adoptions, behind Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. And, the majority of children adopted from the state by both domestic and inter-country adoptive parents were girls, a trend that has remained consistent over the past few years.Nationally, 5,022 adoptions were recorded during 2025-26, of which 4,603 were in-country and 419 inter-country.Of the 308 children adopted from the state, 29 were children with special needs — three within the country and 26 abroad — constituting about 9.4% of all adoptions. It is higher than the national proportion of 7.8%, where 392 of the 5,022 adopted children were classified as those with special needs. This placed the state in fifth position nationally, with Tamil Nadu recording the highest number at 62, followed by Maharashtra (59), Karnataka (36) and Telangana (30). Also, the adoption of children with special needs accounted for 58% of the state’s inter-country adoptions.According to the CARA, the statutory body under the Union ministry of women and child Development, there are 262 children in the state who are currently waiting for adoption. The adoption process is governed by Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which was amended in 2021.Officials of the State Adoption Resource Agency (Sara) under the women and child development department said the increase in legal adoptions comes amid efforts to expedite legal clearances and ensure timely disposal of adoption orders. The 2021 amendment, which empowered district collectors to decide on matters related to adoptive parents, has helped reduce the time taken to complete the adoption process, they said.Child rights activist Prashant Palatasingh said the state has also managed to significantly curb illegal adoptions to almost nil over the past decade by strengthening the child protection network from village to district level. “The reporting mechanism has also improved, whether in cases of illegal adoption, child marriage, sale or to some extent, trafficking,” he said.
