4. 1 Every institution and child welfare agency engaged in care and custody of children or in adoption work or any other activity related to orphan, abandoned, destitute, neglected or relinquished children shall immediately be listed by the concerned State Government and such list shall be forwarded to CARA.

Only Recognized Agencies could undertake Adoption.

4. 2 (i) No agency shall engage in placement of or promotion of in-country adoption unless the State Government recognizes it and in case of agency engaged in placement work, it should be a child welfare agency. Any Indian agency desirous of undertaking inter-country adoption work shall apply for recognition to the Central Adoption Resource Agency, the State Government concerned and only such agencies as are recognized by the Central Adoption Resource Agency, shall be entitled to undertake inter-country adoption work. Such agencies shall be termed "recognized placement agencies" of adoption. The agencies, which are not doing placement work but are involved in promotional work of Indian adoption, shall also be recognized by CARA.

(ii) No agencies except those recognized by the State Government concerned shall engage in in-country adoption. Rules and guidelines for this purpose may be formulated by the State Government.

4.3 Only such voluntary agencies as are primarily engaged in child welfare programs for the growth and development of children and which undertake adoption as a part of their total activities may apply for recognition for inter-country adoption to the Central Adoption Resource Agency.

4.4 Every social child welfare organization recognized for placement work in adoption shall regularly maintain a list of all prospective adoptive parents containing their names, addresses and data on the basis of which they have approached the organization for taking a child in adoption and other relevant details.

4.5 When a recognized Indian agency receives a child its first responsibility is to trace the biological parents and restore the child to them failing which as far as possible to place the child in adoption with Indian families. It would be desirable that an Indian recognized placement agency should place annually more than 50 per cent of the total number of children given in adoption with Indian families. However, the handicapped children, children above 6 years of age and siblings will be excluded from this calculation. The placement agencies are required to adhere the following order of priority while considering the adoption of Indian children:

1. Indian families in India.
2. Indian families abroad.
3. One parent of Indian origin abroad.
4. Totally foreign.

Every recognized placement agency shall also give full details of the child to the prospective adoptive parents except the names and addresses of the biological parents, where known to the agency. It is only when all efforts to place the child within the country fail then the child would be cleared for inter-country adoption. These efforts should include contracting the VCA within the area of operation. A clearance certificate should be taken from VCA in this regard. Such clearance certificate shall be given by VCA. If within 60 days from the date the application to VCA, VCA is unable to send suitable Indian parents who are willing to take the child in adoption, intimation of making of the application to VCA shall be given to the Central Adoption Resource Agency forthwith. The Central Adoption Resource Agency will prepare a uniform proforma for clearance certificate to be issued by all voluntary coordinating agencies.

4.6 Adoption of Indian children placed with Indian living abroad will be treated as in-country placement. However, such Indian would have to follow the same procedure of sending their applications, documents etc. through an enlisted foreign agency in that country as in the case of inter-country adoption.

4.7 Every recognized agency shall keep a complete record in chronological order of the efforts made by it for locating an Indian parent for the adoption of a child and shall specifically note the reasons for any case of non-placement of a child in in-country adoption with any particulars of Indian parents.