Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021

Story hook

It is August 2008. In an air-conditioned IVF clinic in Anand, Gujarat, an Australian couple sits across from Dr. Nayana Patel. They have travelled 8,000 km not for India's beaches or temples but for its surrogates — Indian women who, for ₹2-4 lakh, will carry their genetic child for nine months. India in 2008 has just become the global hub of "reproductive tourism" — estimated at US$ 2.3 billion by 2012 (CII estimate). Foreign couples flow to India, where surrogacy is unregulated, cheap, and legally permissive.

Then comes the Baby Manji case (2008). A Japanese couple commissioned a surrogate via the Akanksha Infertility Clinic in Anand. By the time baby Manji was born, the couple had divorced. Japan refused her citizenship (no genetic mother claim under Japanese law). India refused her a passport (no Indian parent). Manji was stateless for three months. The Supreme Court intervened (Baby Manji Yamada v. UoI 2008); her Japanese grandmother eventually adopted her.

The case exposed everything: statelessness risk, exploitation of surrogates (poor women paid pittance to carry foreign children, hidden in "surrogacy hostels"), commercialisation of reproduction, and the absence of legal status for surrogate-born children. 228th Law Commission Report (2009) + draft ART Bills (2010, 2013, 2014) + draft Surrogacy Bills (2016, 2019) followed.

Finally, in December 2021, Parliament enacted two parallel laws — the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021 + the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021 — that bring this multi-billion-rupee industry under tight regulation. Both laws are now contested in the Supreme Court (multiple petitions) for their restrictive eligibility (married-couple-only, age caps, single-women bar, LGBTQ+ exclusion). This file maps the regime.

Why this matters for UPSC

Mains GS-I + GS-II topic — asked 2015 "Suggest the measures to overcome the problem of orphans + abandoned children in India" and 2020 "Discuss the role of women's organisations in ensuring women empowerment". The surrogacy debate is a Family + Marriage unit favourite + women's empowerment angle.

Prelims has tested ART + surrogacy directly: who can be a surrogate (eligibility), the National + State ART Boards, the altruistic vs commercial distinction. Expect at least one question per year given the Acts' recency + ongoing SC challenges.

Interview: ethics of commodification, rights of surrogates, single-parent eligibility, marriage equality + reproductive rights.