Food Security Rules notified with revised limit, HoH mandate

Delhi's new Food Security Rules mandate the eldest woman as the household head for ration cards, raising income eligibility to ₹1.2 lakh.

The Delhi government has notified the Delhi Food Security Rules, 2026, making it mandatory for the eldest woman in a family to be recognised as the head of household (HoH) for issuing ration cards, officials said on Thursday.

The decision was approved at a cabinet meeting last month.

The rules, notified by the food supplies and consumer affairs department earlier this month, raise the annual income eligibility limit for ration cards to ₹1.2 lakh from ₹1 lakh. The decision was approved at a cabinet meeting last month.

According to the notification, the eldest woman in the family will be designated as the HoH. If the eldest woman is under 18 years of age, the eldest male member will be the HoH. If a declared female HoH dies, the next eldest woman listed on the ration card may apply to become the HoH.

Ration card applications will be examined by a district-level committee headed by the district magistrate (DM) or the additional DM, according to the notified rules. The committee will also include two local MLAs. In addition to processing pending applications, the committee may invite fresh applications from individuals belonging to the “Poorest of Poor” category, the rules said.

The total number of ration cards allocated to Delhi will be distributed district-wise in proportion to the number of voters in each district. This voter-based allocation will shift to a census-based system once the results of the ongoing census operations are formally released, the notification said.

The rules specify that ration cards will not be issued to households that own property or land in A to E category colonies in Delhi, pay income tax, own a four-wheeler, have any government employee as a family member, or have an electricity connection exceeding 2 kW.

The notification also formalises grievance redressal and vigilance mechanisms within the public distribution system (PDS) by establishing committees at the circle, district and state levels.

Under the external grievance redressal mechanism, the concerned additional DM will act as the district grievance redressal officer to handle complaints from PDS beneficiaries. A state food commission will hear appeals against orders passed by the district grievance redressal officer.

The notification also states that Members of Parliament (MPs) and MLAs will be part of district- and block-level vigilance committees, respectively, along with representatives of ration card holders’ groups.