Adoption guidelines revised in 2011: Minister

New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) To further streamline child adoption procedures, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has revised adoption guidelines and notified Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children on June 27 last year, Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath told the Lok Sabha Friday.

"To ensure the best interests of the child, these guidelines provide that an orphaned, abandoned or surrendered child has to be declared legally free for adoption by a child welfare committee before the child is proposed for adoption," Tirath said in a statement.

The guidelines are based on the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, and the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption of which India is a signatory.

"All adoption agencies are required to follow provisions of the guidelines and appropriate action is taken by state governments, union territories/Central Adoption Resource Authority as the case may be," she added.