Eldest woman to be head of household for ration card issuance

The eldest female member of a family will be treated as the head of the household for issuing ration cards under the Delhi Food Security Rules, 2026, which was notified recently. However, if the age of the sole female member in the family is below 18 years, the eldest male member shall be treated as the head.

The quota of ration cards allowed for Delhi will be grouped district-wise in proportion to the total number of voters of the area, according to a gazette notification. The voter-basis criterion would be switched to Census-basis as and when the results of the ongoing population enumeration operations are released for formal usage.

Also, the income criterion for issuing ration cards has been enhanced to Rs 1.2 lakh per annum from Rs 1 lakh earlier, under the rules notified by the Delhi government’s Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs department. It has also institutionalised grievance redressal and vigilance mechanisms in the public distribution system (PDS) through multiple committees at district, ward and fair price shop levels.

In the case of the death of a declared female head of the household, the eldest woman in the ration card of the family may apply to be declared as the new head, the notification States. Applications for ration cards will be dealt with by a committee constituted at the district level. The District Magistrate (DM) or the additional DM concerned will head the committee that will include two local MLAs as its members.