Delhi Saheli Smart Card (NCMC Pink Card)

What is the Delhi Saheli Smart Card?

Delhi Saheli Smart Card is a pink National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) that Delhi Transport Corporation issues to women so that they can travel free on DTC and cluster buses in Delhi by tapping a card instead of taking a paper pink ticket. DTC's own circulars refer to it as the NCMC "Pink Saheli" Smart Card, and the network of issuing points as the NCMC card distribution centres.

Delhi has offered free bus travel to women on DTC and DIMTS-operated cluster buses since 2019. Until the smart card arrived, the mechanism was a printed pink ticket handed over by the conductor on every journey. A system that worked but generated enormous volumes of paper and gave the Corporation no reliable ridership data. The Saheli Smart Card moves the same entitlement onto a reusable contactless card.

Delhi Transport Corporation published its list of 50 NCMC card distribution counters on 2 March 2026, and has since issued operational circulars covering staffing at the "Pink Saheli" Smart Card distribution centres, including a June 2026 order granting a weekly off on Mondays to the staff deployed there and a further Pink Card circular in July 2026.

Who is eligible for the Delhi Saheli Smart Card?

You can get a Saheli Smart Card if:

• You are a woman or girl travelling on DTC or cluster buses in Delhi.
• You live in Delhi and can show a Delhi address, normally through Aadhaar.
• You hold an Aadhaar card with a mobile number linked to it, so the counter can verify your identity by OTP.

You are not eligible if:

• You are male. The free-travel entitlement the pink card carries is specific to women, and men pay the normal fare or use an ordinary NCMC card.
• You cannot establish a Delhi address. The card is issued against a Delhi residence, not to visitors.
• You are seeking free travel on services other than DTC and cluster buses. The card can be used to pay on the Delhi Metro and other NCMC-enabled services, but those journeys are charged at the normal fare.

DTC has not published a minimum age condition on its website. Take the girl's Aadhaar to the counter and ask, rather than relying on an age figure circulating online.

What documents are required for the Saheli Smart Card?

Carry the original Aadhaar, not only a photocopy. Counters verify the number electronically.

How to apply for the Delhi Saheli Smart Card

1. Find your nearest NCMC card distribution counter from DTC's published list of 50 locations. The Deputy Commissioner office of your district, one of the eight SDM offices, or a DTC depot or pass section.
2. Carry your Aadhaar card and the mobile phone with the Aadhaar-linked number, so you can receive the verification OTP.
3. Fill in the application form at the counter with your name, address and mobile number, exactly as they appear on Aadhaar.
4. Complete Aadhaar verification with the OTP, and have your photograph captured if the counter does not accept a printed one.
5. Collect the personalised pink Saheli Smart Card, check that your name and photograph are correct before you leave, and note the card number.
6. From then on, tap the card on the conductor's machine at the start of every DTC or cluster bus journey instead of taking a paper pink ticket.

Where DTC offers online pre-registration, filling the form in advance shortens the queue, but the card itself is handed over in person at a distribution counter after Aadhaar verification.

Where are the 50 Saheli Smart Card distribution counters?

DTC's published list covers three kinds of location:

• 12 Deputy Commissioner offices — Central, East, New Delhi, North East, North West, South, South West, West, South East, Old Delhi, Central North and Outer North districts.
• 8 SDM offices, Delhi Cantt, Adarsh Nagar, Yamuna Vihar, Kirari and Nangloi Jat, Mehrauli, Dwarka, Badarpur and Bawana.
• DTC depots, terminals and pass sections, Banda Bahadur Marg (BBM) Depot, Burari Depot near the Transport Authority, and the pass sections at Uttam Nagar, Nehru Place, Shadipur, Scindia House, Kashmiri Gate, Dichaon Kalan, Nand Nagri, Wazirpur, Peera Garhi, Dwarka Sector 2, Sarojini Nagar, Hari Nagar 1, Mangol Puri, Punjabi Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, Azadpur, Sultanpuri, Delhi Gate, Rohini Sector 22, Hauz Khas, Shahdara, Kanjhawala, South Campus, Jamia, Seemapuri, North Campus (DU) and JNU, plus the Karawal Nagar terminal.

The DTC staff at these centres were granted a weekly off on Mondays by a June 2026 circular, so plan your visit for another day of the week.

Why a Saheli Smart Card application can go wrong

• Mobile number not linked to Aadhaar. Without it the counter cannot send the verification OTP. Update the linkage at an Aadhaar enrolment centre first.
• Aadhaar address outside Delhi. Carry a Delhi voter ID, ration card or utility bill as supporting proof, or update your Aadhaar address.
• Name spelt differently on Aadhaar and on the form. Copy the Aadhaar spelling exactly.
• Visiting on a Monday, when distribution-centre staff have their weekly off.
• Card not tapped at boarding. The entitlement is recorded when the card is read; carrying the card in your bag without tapping does not register the journey.

Where to get help with the Delhi Saheli Smart Card

• Delhi Transport Corporation (HQ), I.P. Estate, New Delhi – 110002
• Phone: 011-23370236
• Transport Department, Government of NCT of Delhi, 5/9 Under Hill Road, Delhi – 110054, phone 011-23994223
• Any DTC pass section, for card replacement, damage or a tapping fault

Delhi Transport Corporation has not published a dedicated toll-free helpline for the Saheli Smart Card on its website. Numbers circulating on social media for "pink card registration" are unverified, use the DTC head office number above or ask at a distribution counter. No agent can charge you a fee to "get your name added" for a Saheli Smart Card.

How to check your Saheli Smart Card status

The Saheli Smart Card is not a form submitted online that moves through an approval pipeline, so there is no application-tracking ID or portal status page to check. It is issued to you in person at the distribution counter once your Aadhaar is verified, so "status" in practice means confirming the card itself is active and working.

1. At the counter, before you leave. Once the card is handed to you, ask the staff to confirm it has been activated on the spot. Check your name and photograph on the card, and note the card number printed on it, this is the only reference number tied to your card.
2. On your first bus journey. Tap the card on the conductor's handheld machine when boarding. A successful tap is the real confirmation that the card is live in DTC's system, most machines show a green light or a short beep along with your card balance or entitlement.
3. If a tap is rejected or shows an error. Do not assume the card is faulty from a single failed tap, conductor machines occasionally lose network connectivity. If it fails to read on two or three separate journeys, go back to the pass section nearest you, or the counter where it was issued, and ask staff to check the card against DTC's system.
4. If the card is lost, damaged, or stops reading. There is no online reissue tracking. Visit any DTC pass section in person with your Aadhaar to report it and ask about a replacement; carry the old card number if you noted it down.
5. For anything the counter staff cannot resolve, call DTC head office at 011-23370236, or the Transport Department at 011-23994223, and describe the distribution counter where the card was issued and the date.

Because the Saheli Smart Card scheme has no dedicated online portal or SMS-based status service, always verify a card's status in person at a DTC counter or pass section rather than relying on any number or website you find outside DTC's official channels.