(2)“adoption ” means the process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from
his biological parents and becomes the lawful child of his adoptive parents with all the rights,
privileges and responsibilities that are attached to a biological child;
(3)“adoption regulations ” means the regulations framed by the Authority and notified by the
Central Government in respect of adoption;
1[* * * * *]
(5)“aftercare ” means making provision of support, financial or otherwise, to persons, who have
completed the age of eighteen years but have not completed the age of twenty -one years, and have
left any institutional care to join the mainstream of the society;
(6)“authorised foreign adoption agency ” means a foreign social or child welfare agency that is
authorised by the Central Adoption Resource Authority on the recommendation of their Central
Authority or Government department of that country for sponsoring the application of non -resident
Indian or overseas citizen of India or persons of Indian origi n or foreign prospective adoptive parents
for adoption of a child from India;
(7)“Authority ” means the Central Adoption Resource Authority constituted under section 68;
(i)soliciting or receiving alms in a public place or entering into any private premises for the
purpose of soliciting or receiving alms, under any pretence;
(ii)exposing or exhibiting with the object of obtaining or extorting alms, any sore, wound,
injury, deformity or disease, whether of himself or of any other per son or of an animal;
(9)“best interest of child ” means the basis for any decision taken regarding the child, to ensure
fulfilment of his basic rights and needs, identity, social well -being and physical, emotional and
intellectual development;
(10)“Board ” means a Juvenile Justice Board constituted under section 4;
(11)“Central Authority ” means the Government department recognised as such under the Hague
Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Inter -country Adoption (1993);
(12)“child ” means a person who has not completed eighteen years of age;
(13)“child in conflict with law ” means a child who is alleged or found to have committed an
offence and who has not completed eighteen years of age on the date of commission of such offence;
(14)“child in need of care and protection ” means a child -
(i)who is found without any home or settled place of abode and without any ostensible
means of subsistence; or
(ii)who is found working in contravention of 2[the provisions of this Act or ] labour laws for
the time being in force or is found begging, or living on the street; or
(iii)who resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or not) and such person -
(a)has injured, exploited, abused or neglected the child or has violated any other law for
the time being in force meant for the protection of child; or
(b)has threatened to kill, injure, exploit or abuse the child and there is a reasonable
likelihood of the threat being carried out; or
(c)has killed, abused, neglected or exploited so me other child or children and there is a
reasonable likelihood of the child in question being killed, abused, exploited or neglected by
that person; or