New Delhi: The central 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 new guidelines replace the July 2023 instructions on similar purchases of gadgets, according to the finance ministry.
In revised guidelines issued by the expenditure department in the finance ministry on November 10, it said that it has been decided that laptop; tablet, notepad, ultra-book, notebook, and devices of similar categories may be issued to eligible officers for discharge of official work.
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,” the ministry said.
“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,” it said.
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. After completion of four years of usage, the officer can retain the issued device,” it said.
Meanwhile, the finance ministry has also asked ministries and departments to make electric vehicles (EVs) their ‘default and preferred choice’ for staff cars, and set a price cap of Rs 20 lakh for procurement of such vehicles. “To promote electric mobility, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and account for prevailing market prices and vehicle lifecycle costs, it is revising the net dealer price (NDP) ceiling for procuring EVs and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles,” it said.
Accordingly, the NDP ceiling for EVs has been set at Rs 20 lakh, double the Rs 10 lakh limit set for ICE vehicles (petrol/diesel/hybrid). The 2022 instructions prescribing the guidelines regarding procurement and hiring of cars by Ministries/Departments had fixed the NDP ceiling at Rs 6 lakh.
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