Delhi: In Delhi, the process of making new ration cards and adding family members names online (via computer or phone) has begun through the e-district portal. This is an important step towards digitizing the city’s Public Distribution System (PDS). This will save people from having to run around offices and speed up their work, allowing them to get affordable rations on time.
Officials from the Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs said the process has been opened for fresh applicants as well as for residents whose applications had remained pending for a long period. Several old applications have now been returned to applicants’ e-District accounts for resubmission after scrutiny revealed incomplete documentation or outdated records.
According to government data, Delhi currently has more than 17 lakh ration card holders covering nearly 73 lakh beneficiaries under the public distribution system. Beneficiaries receive subsidised food grains through around 2,000 fair price shops across the capital.
The government has instructed applicants with pending requests to log in to the portal and check the “Pending for Submission” section under the “Apply Online” menu. Officials said applicants must upload the required documents again, including a family income certificate issued by the jurisdictional revenue authority, before their applications can be processed further.
The development follows a broader overhaul of Delhi’s food security framework introduced earlier this year under the Delhi Food Security Rules, 2026. The revised rules made online-only applications mandatory and required applicants to provide Aadhaar details of all family members as part of the verification process.
Under the updated rules, households with an annual family income of up to ₹1.2 lakh are eligible to apply for ration cards, an increase from the earlier income cap of ₹1 lakh. The rules also introduced stricter eligibility screening to prevent misuse of subsidised food schemes. Households may be disqualified if any member owns certain categories of property, pays income tax, owns a private four-wheeler, or already receives food subsidies under another government scheme.
Earlier this year, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had announced that the Delhi government planned to issue around two lakh new ration cards in 2026. Officials say that with the start of online application, the pending work will be completed quickly and the process of getting ration will become easy and clean.
The Department of Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs has also issued a public helpline number, 1967, for applicants facing technical or procedural difficulties while submitting the online form.
