Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 23: Aiming to reform the public distribution system and ensure benefits reach the truly needy, the Delhi government is planning to issue ration cards based on a quota fixed for each district, determined by population, a senior government official said on Thursday.

At present, ration in the national capital is distributed through e-PoS (Point of Sale) devices after biometric authentication using Aadhaar.

“Under the new rules — the Delhi Food Security Rules, 2025 — the Delhi government will allocate ration card quotas district-wise based on population. For now, the existing census will be used as the guiding reference,” the official said.

The government will also undertake verification of existing ration card holders to identify and remove ineligible beneficiaries, with the objective of ensuring that benefits reach economically weaker sections who genuinely require support.

Earlier, a high-level review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta approved the new Delhi Food Security Rules, 2025. The policy introduces a ‘family income certificate’ as a key criterion to establish eligibility for ration cards.

The official further said that a proposal was cleared to set up a multi-layered grievance redressal mechanism at the circle, district and state levels to address complaints efficiently.
According to a government document, authorities have already identified around 23,394 duplicate food security beneficiaries and nearly 95,682 ‘silent beneficiaries’ — individuals who have remained on the system for a long period without availing any benefits.

“The proposed Delhi Food Security Rules, 2025, will create a framework focused on fair identification, prioritisation of needs and accountability, thereby strengthening food security for economically weaker sections,” officials said.

Another key feature of the new policy is the formation of district-level committees to prioritise the “poorest of the poor”. These committees, led by the district magistrate (DM) or additional district magistrate (ADM), will ensure the most deserving households are covered and will maintain a 20 per cent waiting list. The committees will include MLAs, sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) and the assistant commissioner.

Earlier, the chief minister had announced that the annual household income limit for ration card eligibility would be increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.2 lakh.