Goa, April 28 -- SHASHWAT GUPTA RAY

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PANJIM: A growing mismatch between willing parents and actual adoptions is exposing structural and social fault lines in Goa's child adoption system - a gap that officials defend as procedural reality, but which stakeholders say reflects deeper inefficiencies.

Official data shows that while 265 Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) have been approved in the State, only 84 children were adopted between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2026 - a gap that NGOs say is not merely about numbers, but about a system weighed down by rigid processes, digital barriers, and persistent social stigma.

"There is a long list of formalities that needs to be completed as part of the child adoption proc...