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 government 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% 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%, the price ceiling will 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 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.
“Concerned Ministry/Department shall ensure that the data in the device is completely wiped out (data sanitised) before the device is handed over to the officer for retention,” the memorandum said.
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 Rs 80,000 and there was no provision for retention of devices for personal use.