Govt employees can now get laptops worth up to Rs 1.8 lakh, keep them after 4 years

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Central government officers can now get laptops worth up to Rs 1.8 lakh and retain them after four years under the Finance Ministry's revised device purchase rules. Here are all the details.

Government employees could soon be taking home the laptops they use for office work, without having to pay for them. The Finance Ministry has revised its device purchase policy, allowing eligible central government officers to keep their government-issued laptops, tablets and similar gadgets after four years of use. According to ANI, the new rules also allow departments to buy devices costing up to Rs 1.8 lakh plus taxes. In this range, one can get MacBook Air and Pro models from Apple.

The higher price limit, however, comes with a condition. A device must have more than 40 per cent Make-in-India (MII) content to qualify for the Rs 1.8 lakh ceiling. For other devices, the maximum permitted cost is Rs 1.5 lakh plus taxes. Both limits include standard software. The revised policy was issued by the Department of Expenditure on November 10. It replaces the earlier rules from July 2023, when the government had set the corresponding price limits at Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.3 lakh.

The policy allows ministries and departments to issue laptops, tablets, notepads, ultrabooks, notebooks and similar devices to officers for official work. Mobile phones, which were specifically mentioned in the earlier guidelines, do not feature in the new list.

Not every government employee will automatically qualify for a new laptop. Officers in Pay Level 12 and above are eligible, covering the entire sanctioned strength at these levels. For employees in Pay Levels 8 to 11, the initial eligibility is restricted to half the sanctioned posts. This can be increased to 75 per cent if the ministry or department secretary, in consultation with the Financial Adviser, considers it necessary for official work.

There are also conditions attached to keeping the devices. Officers can retain their laptops after four years, but departments must first wipe all official information stored on them.

The rules also prevent an officer from receiving another device within the four-year period unless the existing one is…

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