New Delhi: The central government officers will be entitled to mobile phones, laptops, or similar devices costing up to INR 1.3 lakh which can be retained by them for personal use after four years, according to the Expenditure Department of the Finance Ministry.
In an office memorandum, the department listed out proper guidelines for the issuance of mobile, laptop, tablet, phablets, notebooks, notepads, ultra-book, netbooks, or devices of similar categories to eligible officers for official work.
All central government officers of the rank of deputy secretary and above will be entitled to such electronic devices, the Expenditure Department guidelines read.
In the case of Section Officers and Under Secretaries, 50 percent of the sanctioned strength can be issued such devices, it added.
The office memorandum, regarding the cost of the devices, said it could be ₹1 lakh plus taxes. However, for devices with a Make-in-India component of more than 40 percent, the price ceiling will be ₹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 4 years except in case of repair, which is declared as ‘beyond economical repairs’,” the memorandum said.
It further said post completion of four years of usage, the officer shall retain the device, as per PTI reports.
“Concerned Ministry/Department shall ensure that the data in the device is completely wiped out (data sanitized) before the device is handed over to the officer for retention,” the ministry said in the memorandum.
The memorandum dated July 21, 2023, supersedes the earlier one, which was issued on March 27, 2020, as per which the cost of such devices was capped at ₹80,000 and there was no provision for retention of devices for personal use.
