45,000 Ration Cards Scrapped in Delhi as AI Plan Raises Concerns

The Delhi government revoked more than 45,000 ration cards over a 14-month period, while the Department of Food, Supplies and Consumer Affairs is exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to identify bogus beneficiaries, an RTI reply said.

Between January 1, 2025, and February 17, 2026 , 45,212 ration cards were cancelled. Currently, 15,48,410 ration cards are active, covering nearly 73 lakh public distribution system (PDS) beneficiaries through around 2,000 fair price shops . Of these, 60,372 fall under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) category, and 14,88,038 under the Priority Household (PHH) category.

The Department said AI is not yet in use , though the process to introduce it is underway. Officials caution that automated verification carries a risk of mistakenly removing genuine eligible beneficiaries , potentially disrupting food supply for needy families.

The move has drawn criticism from opposition parties, who described the plan as “risky and prone to errors” and demanded a robust grievance redressal mechanism before AI-based cancellations are implemented.

Over the past decade, the Delhi government has cancelled 4.20 lakh ration cards for various reasons, aiming to improve the efficiency of the PDS. Under the Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2015 , Delhi’s ration card quota of 72,77,995 has been filled. New ration cards are issued only when vacancies arise due to death, migration, surrender, or cancellation of ineligible cards. The government has announced plans to issue two lakh fresh ration cards this year .