Children, family and inheritance — India

Names

An affidavit, a newspaper announcement and publication in the Gazette — an administrative process with no court involvement.

There is no restrictive list of permitted names. Changing a name is done by executing an affidavit before a notary or magistrate, publishing an announcement in two newspapers, and applying for publication in the Gazette of India or the relevant state gazette. The gazette notification is the document institutions rely on.

Key points

In practice

• Complete the gazette notification: banks and passport offices require it.
• Update Aadhaar and PAN in the same month to avoid mismatch problems.

Cost and coverage

Modest costs for stamp paper, notarisation, newspaper advertisements and gazette publication.

Where to go

• Department of Publication for gazette notification.
• Notaries and magistrates for affidavits.
• UIDAI and NSDL for updating Aadhaar and PAN.

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Adoption

India has two parallel systems. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, with the Adoption Regulations made by the Central Adoption Resource Authority, is secular and open to everyone; it channels every adoption through the CARINGS online portal. The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956 allows Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs to adopt directly, with full filiation. For Muslims, Christians and Parsis outside the JJ Act, the Guardians and Wards Act 1890 provides guardianship without parentage.

The mismatch is stark. Tens of thousands of prospective parents are registered on CARINGS against a few thousand legally free children, so waiting times for a healthy infant run to three or four years. The children who wait, meanwhile, are older children and children with special needs, for whom the immediate-placement list is short.

Legally free is the key concept. A child in an institution is not adoptable until the Child Welfare Committee has declared them legally free for adoption, after tracing efforts and the statutory waiting period. Many children spend years in care because that declaration was never sought.

For non-resident Indians and overseas citizens, CARA runs a separate priority stream. NRIs are treated on a par with resident Indians in the seniority list, while foreign nationals rank after them — a rule that materially changes the waiting time depending on passport and status.

Same-sex couples: the Supreme Court declined to recognise same-sex marriage in Supriyo (October 2023), and joint adoption is not available to same-sex couples; adoption by a single person is.

Key points

In practice

• Register on the CARINGS portal and upload the required documents.
• Undergo the home study report prepared by a Specialised Adoption Agency.
• Wait for a referral: the system matches registered parents with legally free children in seniority order.
• Accept the referral within the prescribed period, then meet the child and sign the acceptance.
• Obtain the adoption order — since 2022 from the District Magistrate rather than the court — and the new birth certificate.

Cost and coverage

Domestic adoption through CARA costs a fixed child-care corpus fee of a few tens of thousands of rupees plus the home study fee. Intercountry adoption costs around USD 5,000 to 7,000 in Indian fees, plus the foreign agency's charges and travel. Indian law provides maternity benefit of twelve weeks to a mother adopting a child below three months of age.

Where to go

• Central Adoption Resource Authority, New Delhi
• Specialised Adoption Agencies recognised by the state government
• State Adoption Resource Agency in your state
• District Magistrate, who issues adoption orders since the 2021 amendment
• Authorised Foreign Adoption Agencies for non-resident applicants

Frequently asked questions

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Assisted reproduction

Two Acts passed in December 2021 transformed the field: the ART (Regulation) Act and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, which together banned commercial surrogacy and narrowed who may be treated.

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021 and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021 came into force in January 2022. Every clinic and gamete bank must register on the national registry. Treatment is open to married heterosexual couples and to women who are widowed or divorced, with age limits of 21 to 50 for women and 21 to 55 for men. Commercial surrogacy is prohibited; only altruistic surrogacy by a willing woman is permitted, under strict conditions. Donors are recruited only through registered ART banks, and a woman may donate eggs once in her lifetime.

India's commercial surrogacy industry, at its peak, was estimated in the billions of rupees and involved thousands of arrangements a year, many with foreign intended parents. Reports of poor conditions and inadequate consent drove the legislation, which went further than most expected.

The once-in-a-lifetime limit on egg donation is unusual and consequential. Elsewhere donors may donate several times, which is how banks build supply; India's rule, combined with the requirement to use registered banks, has made donor eggs scarcer and more expensive.

The exclusion of single, unmarried and same-sex people has made the Acts constitutionally contested. Several petitions have been filed, and the position may change; anyone planning treatment should check the current state of the litigation.

Same-sex couples: the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021 and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021 restrict access to married heterosexual couples and, for ART, to single women within an age range. Same-sex couples are excluded by statute.

Key points

In practice

• Choose a clinic registered on the National Registry and verify the registration number.
• Complete the couple work-up; both partners must be investigated.
• Sign the statutory consent forms, which are prescribed by the Act.
• For donor gametes, the clinic must source them from a registered ART bank, not privately.
• For surrogacy, obtain the eligibility and essentiality certificates required by the Surrogacy Act.

Cost and coverage

An IVF cycle costs ₹1.5 to ₹3 lakh including medication, and ICSI more. Donor egg cycles cost more again. There is no public funding, and most health insurance policies exclude fertility treatment, though a few now offer limited cover. India remains inexpensive by international standards, which historically drew large numbers of foreign patients.

Where to go

• Registered ART clinics and banks listed on the National Registry
• National and State ART and Surrogacy Boards
• Indian Council of Medical Research, for guidelines
• Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction, for professional standards
• District medical boards, which issue surrogacy certificates

Frequently asked questions

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Childcare

The Anganwadi network reaches tens of millions of children with nutrition and preschool, while the Palna crèche scheme and the workplace crèche duty address the needs of working mothers.

India's early childhood system rests on the Integrated Child Development Services, delivered through more than a million Anganwadi centres providing supplementary nutrition, immunisation support and preschool education for children up to six. The Palna scheme, under Mission Shakti, funds crèches for the children of working mothers, including at Anganwadi centres. Separately, the Maternity Benefit Act requires establishments with fifty or more employees to provide a crèche facility. Private preschools and day care are widespread in cities and unregulated in much of the country.

The scale of the Anganwadi network is without equivalent anywhere: over a million centres, reaching tens of millions of children. Quality varies enormously, and the preschool component is often the weakest part, but for nutrition and immunisation the network is the backbone of the system.

The statutory workplace crèche is widely ignored. The obligation exists for establishments with fifty or more employees, and enforcement is weak, but asking about it is worthwhile — several large employers now provide or subsidise it.

In urban middle-class households the real arrangement is usually a combination: a domestic worker, grandparents, and a few hours of private preschool. Formalising the employment of domestic workers — written terms, fixed hours, social security where available — is both fairer and more stable for the family.

Key points

In practice

• Locate the Anganwadi centre for your area through the local child development project officer.
• Ask your employer about the statutory crèche obligation if the establishment has fifty or more employees.
• Check whether a Palna crèche operates nearby, particularly in urban areas.
• For private preschools, ask what regulation, if any, they are subject to in your state.
• Verify staff ratios and safety arrangements yourself; there is no national inspection regime for private day care.

Cost and coverage

Anganwadi services are free. Palna crèches charge a nominal contribution. Private day care costs from ₹3,000 a month in small towns to ₹15,000 or more in metropolitan areas, and international preschools far more. Domestic help remains the most common arrangement in middle-class households.

Where to go

• Anganwadi centres and the Integrated Child Development Services
• Ministry of Women and Child Development, for Palna and Mission Shakti
• State women and child development departments
• Employer human resources, for the statutory workplace crèche
• Private preschool chains and neighbourhood day care in urban areas

Frequently asked questions

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Step-families

The step-parent's position depends on the personal law that applies, and adoption is not open to everyone.

There is no general statute conferring rights on a step-parent. Adoption of a spouse's child is available under Hindu personal law, and guardianship under the general guardianship statute applies to everyone. For Muslim families, adoption in the sense of full filiation is not recognised, though guardianship is available and the juvenile justice legislation offers a secular adoption route open to all communities. Stepchildren do not inherit under intestate succession.

There is no single answer in India, because family law depends on the personal law that applies to the family. Adoption under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act is available to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs; Muslims, Christians and Parsis historically could not adopt under their personal law and instead use guardianship under the Guardians and Wards Act, or the secular Juvenile Justice Act, which now provides a route open to everyone.

Key points

In practice

• A will is the only reliable way to provide for a stepchild.
• Guardianship under the general statute is open regardless of religion.
• Written authority from the parent avoids most school and hospital difficulties.
• Check which personal law applies before starting any adoption process.

Cost and coverage

Court fees are low; the cost is in legal representation and in the time a guardianship or adoption petition takes, frequently a year or more. District courts vary considerably in speed.

Where to go

• District court, for guardianship and adoption.
• Legal aid services and law school clinics.
• Child welfare committees, for the secular adoption route.

Frequently asked questions

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