(xvii)Sections 49 and 8 of the Surrogacy Act, respectively, read as: — ‘The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the provisions of any other law for the time being in force:’ — ‘a child born out of surrogacy procedure, shall be deemed to be a biological child of the intending couple or intending woman and the said child shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges available to a natural child under any law for time being in force.’ These two Sections reinforce that all child rights, conferred under various child related and other laws of the country, are assured for children born through surrogacy. 6. Existing Practices and Impact of Law The regulations and reforms brought about through the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, the ART(Regulation) Act, 2021 and other related laws will inevitably have an impact on the prevalent system. However, it will not get noticed till some time has lapsed as the commencement of these Acts in January 2022 is quite recent. The comparison between the situations prior to/post promulgation of these laws will reveal the effect of the same. However, this will be a daunting task because the related information is more hidden than shared as it serves the vested interests of certain people operating in this ecosystem. It has been observed in the past, i.e., prior to the enactment of the Surrogacy Act, that ‘every surrogate birth is not followed by a formal application for legal parenthood. A child may be handed over by the surrogate mother and live with the commissioning couple without any legal formalities.’19 The main issue is that the data/information on surrogate children is not being maintained separately amongst the children abandoned or surrendered. The information on abrogation/violation of any of the child rights may exist, but not categorised based on the origin of these children. When any child is either given up in adoption by the adoption authorities or presented before the Child Welfare Committee, his/her origin as to whether born through surrogacy, etc. is not known/recorded (as is understood from reliable sources).This is probably because exercising surrogacy option by the intending parents remains stigmatised and, more often, not disclosed among the people known to them. Moreover, categorising a child as a ‘surrogate child’ may prove discriminatory against him/her. The provision of ‘parental order’ in the Surrogacy Act may go a long way in determining this and may, in fact, cease/reduce the problem itself. 19 Para 3.1.8.2 of the book on, Surrogacy — Law, Practice and Policy in India by Dr. Rekha Pahuja. Journal of the National Human Rights Commission, Vol. 22, 2023 75