Central Government officers entitled to Rs 1.3 lakh gadgets, can retain after 4 years

New Delhi, July 23

Central Government officers will be entitled to mobile, laptop or similar devices costing up to Rs 1.3 lakh, which can be retained by them for personal use after four years.

The Finance Ministry’s Expenditure Department, in an office memorandum, listed out guidelines for the issuance of mobile, laptop, tablet, phablet, notebook, notepad, ultra-book, net-book or devices of similar categories to eligible officers for official work.

As per the guidelines, all Central officers of the rank of Deputy Secretary and above will be entitled to such electronic devices. In the case of Section Officers and Under Secretaries, 50 per cent of the sanctioned strength can be issued such devices. Regarding the cost of the device, the office memorandum said it could be Rs 1 lakh plus taxes. However, for devices with a Make-in-India component of more than 40 per cent, the price ceiling would be Rs 1.30 lakh plus taxes. “No new device may be sanctioned to an officer who has already been allotted a device, in a ministry/department, up to four years except in case of repair, which is declared as ‘beyond economical repairs’,” the memorandum said.