Govt Employees Can Get Rs 1.8 Lakh Laptops, Keep Them After 4 Years

Central government employees are no longer required to return their laptops after years of use. A revised policy, issued by the Ministry of Finance, now allows eligible officials to keep government-provided laptops, tablets, and similar devices after four years of use. The government also raised the amount that departments can spend on buying these devices with the upper limit set at Rs 1.8 lakh excluding taxes.

The Department of Expenditure issued the revised guidelines on November 10. According to ANI the new rules replace the policy introduced in July 2023. That policy had purchase limits, for official electronic devices.

The amount that each department can spend now depends on the Make-in-India content of the device. If a laptop or other eligible equipment has more than forty percent Make-, in-India content the purchase limit is one point eight lakh rupees, plus taxes. For devices that do not meet this requirement each department can spend up to one point five lakh rupees, excluding taxes. Standard software is included in both limits.

This taller ceiling allows departments to have choices when picking equipment for their workers. It also makes some Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models available, within the price range.

Which government employees are eligible?

The revised policy explains which officers can receive these devices. Employees in Pay Level 12 and above are eligible for the sanctioned strength of devices, in their respective positions.

The allocation is different for officers in Pay Levels 8 to 11. At first devices can be given to 50, per cent of the posts that are officially approved. This number can increase to 75 per cent if the department secretary after talking with the Financial Adviser decides that more devices are needed for work.

The approved list covers laptops, tablets, notepads, ultrabooks, notebooks and similar electronic equipment. The approved list has a change: mobile phones have been removed from the approved list. Mobile phones were specifically included in the guidelines.

What happens to laptops after four years?

Employees who finish four years of service may keep the government-provided devices. Yet departments must erase all data, from the equipment before employees may keep it.

These rules also apply to officials who retire or leave government service before completing the four-year period. Officials may keep their devices if they pay the value after depreciation. The government has set the depreciation rate at twenty-five percent.

Employees cannot get a device during the four-year period just because they want an upgrade. A new device is given when the current equipment becomes expensive to fix.

This policy applies to central government ministries and departments. Also, to their attached and subordinate offices. This policy does not cover state governments, public sector undertakings, autonomous bodies or consultants.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kahekashan

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Kahekashan is a passionate technophile with a keen eye for cutting-edge gadgets, emerging technologies, and everything in the digital realm. Raised in a Defence family with strong values and a background in literature, she has consistently pursued excellence in every endeavour. Her last full-time assignment involved content writing with the Indian School of Business.

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