A centralised databank of adoptive children, allowing single parents looking to adopt, and, treating non-resident Indians (NRIs) on par with Indian citizens are some of the revamped guidelines of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) introduced by the union ministry of women and child development, on Monday. The guidelines will be effective from next month.

Under the new guidelines, an e-governance measure that will hasten the adoption process, and make it transparent by putting up the data of the adoptive children online, has been brought up. The Central Adoption Resource Information Guidance System (CARINGS), a centralised system that collates the data, will be connected to the district child protection units.

NRIs will be treated on par with domestic adoptive parents, and a child of below five years, will be given up for adoption 60 days after being cleared for adoption. A child of above five years will be given up for adoption 30 days after clearance.

The new guidelines have also made it possible for single parents to adopt. While single mothers can adopt children of either gender, single men can only adopt male children. The minimum age difference between child and parent cannot exceed 25 years under the new guidelines.

The revamped guidelines were originally mooted in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014. But the Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha, has been pending for a year and a half. And WCD minister Maneka Gandhi wanted to a hassle-free adoption process, said a ministry official. In 2013-14, 3924 children were given up for adoption within the country, while 3988 children were given up in 2014-15. There were 422 inter-country adoptions in 2013-14, and 374 in 2014-15.