New Delhi

Thecentral government has raised the price ceiling of laptops, tablets, or similar devices for its eligible officers to Rs 1.8 lakh plus taxes, and officials can retain them for personal use after four years.

The Finance Ministry's Expenditure Department on November 10 issued revised guidelines on the purchase of Note Book /Laptop by ministries/departments of the central government.

Central government employees of Sections Officer rank and above will be eligible for the devices. "It has been decided that laptop; tablet; notepad; ultra-book; notebook; devices of similar categories may be issued to eligible officers for discharge of official work," it said.

The new guidelines replace the July 2023 instructions on similar purchases of gadgets. The 2023 guidelines explicitly mentioned the purchase of mobile devices, which is not mentioned in the November 10, 2026, office memorandum. As per the new guidelines, the cost of the device shall not be more than Rs 1.50 lakh + taxes. However, for devices with a Make-in-India (MII) component of more than 40 per cent, the price ceiling has been set at Rs 1.80 lakh plus taxes. The price ceiling includes the cost of standard software. The 2023 guidelines had set the ceiling for such devices at Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.3 lakh, respectively.

All government officers in Pay Level 12 and above (as per the 7th Central Pay Commission) in a ministry will be eligible for the devices.

Only 50 per cent of the officers in any department in pay levels 8 to 11 would be eligible for the devices.

Secretary of the concerned ministry/department (in consultation with the Financial Advisor) may extend this eligibility to 75 per cent of the sanctioned strength of officers at these pay levels based on their functional requirements, as per the guidelines. The device will be the property of the government up to four years from the date of purchase. However, the officer who is given the device shall be personally responsible for the safety and security of data/information, as per the guidelines.