Bhubaneswar: Odisha recorded 308 child adoptions in 2025-26, accounting for more than 6% of the total adoptions reported across India, according to data from the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).
The data shows that 5,022 children were adopted across the country during the period, of whom 4,603 were adopted within India and 419 through inter-country adoptions. Odisha accounted for 263 in-country adoptions and 45 inter-country adoptions, making it one of the leading states in the country in terms of total adoptions.
The gender-wise figures indicate a higher number of girl children being adopted in Odisha. Of the state’s 308 adoptions, 170 were girls and 138 were boys. No adoption was recorded under the ‘Other’ gender category. The trend was similar for in-country adoptions, with 140 girls and 123 boys adopted within India. Among inter-country adoptions, 30 were girls and 15 were boys.
At the national level, 2,756 girls and 2,263 boys were adopted, while three children were recorded under the ‘Other’ category. Thus, girls accounted for a larger share of adoptions nationally as well.
Odisha’s 45 inter-country adoptions accounted for nearly 10.7% of all 419 inter-country adoptions recorded nationally. This is notable given that the state’s overall 308 adoptions represented about 6.1% of the national total.
The data also shows that children with special needs constituted a substantial proportion of Odisha’s inter-country adoptions. Of the 45 inter-country adoptions from the state, 26 involved children classified as having special needs, while 19 were classified as normal.
The health-wise data shows that Odisha recorded 279 adoptions of children classified as normal and 29 of children with special needs out of its total 308 adoptions. This means children with special needs accounted for about 9.4% of all adoptions from Odisha during 2025-26.
The proportion was considerably higher in inter-country adoptions, where special-needs children accounted for 26 of the 45 cases, or nearly 58%. In contrast, only three of Odisha’s 263 in-country adoptions involved children classified as having special needs.
With 308 adoptions, Odisha ranked among the states with the higher adoption numbers in the CARA data. Maharashtra recorded the highest total at 792, followed by Gujarat with 547, Tamil Nadu with 501, Karnataka with 377, and Odisha’s neighbouring Telangana with 307. Odisha’s 308 adoptions put it just ahead of Telangana.
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