Delhi Ration Card Mega-Audit: Over 7 lakh fake cards cancelled, find out who can apply and how Delhi Ration Card 2026: 13 years of wait is over, Delhi government will make new ration cards; Here are the important rules and documents

A very relieving and big news has come to light for lakhs of poor and middle class families of the capital Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced in an important press conference on Thursday (21 May 2026) that the Delhi government has started the historic process of making new ration cards in the state. No new ration card was issued in Delhi for the last 13 years, due to which lakhs of needy people were deprived of this government facility. The Chief Minister said that to make the process transparent, the government first conducted a comprehensive and thorough audit of the existing ration cards, after which 7.72 lakh invalid ration cards have been removed from the list.

Along with this, the government has taken another big public welfare decision by increasing the annual income criteria for making new ration cards from Rs 1.2 lakh. Rs 2.5 lakh per year Have decided to do. According to the Chief Minister, the proposal of increasing the income limit will be given final approval in the upcoming cabinet meeting, so that the most needy families of Delhi will be able to get the benefit of free and concessional ration.

Fraud caught in grand audit: Why were 7.72 lakh ration cards cancelled?

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the department conducted an investigation at the ground level to prevent misuse of government ration. Many shocking figures came to light during this comprehensive audit, after which more than 7.71 lakh new vacancies (seats) have become vacant. Following are the main reasons for card cancellation:

• Income Criteria: About 1.44 lakh beneficiaries were found whose annual income was much more than the existing norms set by the government.

• Not picking up ration: About 35,800 such cardholders were identified who had not taken ration even once from the government in the last one year. That means they had no need for this ration.

• Deceased Beneficiary: A thorough investigation revealed that there were 29,580 cardholders whose ration was being collected continuously in their names despite their demise.

• Duplicate Card: Technical verification found 23,394 ration cards to be complete duplicates (multiple cards in the name of the same person), which were immediately blocked.

NFS Act 2013: Who is eligible for this new ration card?

Under the stringent rules of the National Food Security (NFS) Act 2013, the following categories and people are considered eligible to apply for the new card in Delhi:

1. Citizens living in slums and slums.

2. People living in F, G and H category resettlement colonies.

3. Households living in notified population (within the village) of rural areas.

4. Homeless and shelterless people.

5. People of transgender community left out of the mainstream of society.

6. Families with persons with disabilities (it will be mandatory to submit medical certificate authorized under the Persons with Disabilities Act).

7. Single women (including widows, unmarried, legally separated or abandoned women) who are head of household or self-reliant.

8. Orphaned children living without any family protection.

9. Economically and occupationally weaker sections of the society, such as rag-pickers, unskilled construction workers, porters, daily wage labourers, domestic helps, cycle rickshaw pullers and unskilled workers working in small household industries.

Who can be the Head of the Family (HoF)?

According to the rules, in the ration card, only the eldest female member of the family (who is 18 years of age or above) will be considered as the ‘Head of the Family’. If there is no female member above 18 years of age present in a family, then in that case the eldest male member of the household can be made HoF.

Method of application and required documents

Delhi government has made the applications for new ration card completely transparent and digital. Interested and eligible citizens can easily apply in these three ways:

• Online Portal: Applicants Official e-District Portal of Delhi Government https://www.edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in You can register yourself by visiting and submit the form by following step-by-step instructions.

• Mobile Assistant: Under the Doorstep Delivery Scheme of Delhi Government, you can get the application completed sitting at home with the help of ‘Mobile Sahayak’.

• Offline Option: You can also take the filled application form and hard copy of all the necessary documents and submit it to the Circle Office of your nearest Food and Supplies Department.

Documents required for application (Documents List):

1. Identity cards/government documents of identity of all the family members.

2. Latest passport size photograph of the Head of the Family (HoF).

3. Recent electricity bill of the place of residence.

4. Residence certificate (if the residential address is different from the address recorded on the main identity card of the head of the family).