Punjab facilitated adoption of 87 children since 2024, says Minister Baljit Kaur
By Prabh Sidhu
Chandigarh, July 15, 2026: Punjab Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr Baljit Kaur on Wednesday said the Punjab Government is committed to ensuring that every child grows up in a safe, secure and loving family environment, adding that the state is strengthening the legal adoption process to provide homes to children deprived of parental care.
Addressing the State-Level Training Programme on 'Adoption Regulations-2022', the minister said the government is making sustained efforts to simplify and strengthen the adoption mechanism so that orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children can be placed with eligible families through a transparent legal process.
Dr Baljit Kaur said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab has established Special Adoption Agencies (SAAs) in every district, describing it as a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country. She said the government has focused not only on the adoption of newborns but also on ensuring families for older children and those with special needs.
Sharing the state's progress, the minister said 87 children have been adopted since 2024 through the legal adoption process, including both domestic and inter-country adoptions. She added that the government has also successfully facilitated the adoption of several children with special needs.
Dr Baljit Kaur further said that children above the age of six who had been living in childcare institutions for long periods have also been declared "legally free for adoption", enabling them to find permanent families and a better future.
Emphasising the social significance of adoption, the minister said adopting a child is not merely a legal procedure but an opportunity to transform a child's life.
She also thanked the media for creating awareness about adoption and appealed to more families to come forward and participate in the legal adoption process so that no child is deprived of the love, care and security of a family.