Modi government increases allowance for central government employees to purchase laptops and tablets..

The Modi-led central government had already given a gift to central government employees by increasing the Dearness Allowance (DA) ahead of Diwali, and now, following the festival, it has provided another. This benefit, however, is available only to eligible government employees. The central government has raised the maximum price limit for the procurement of laptops, tablets, and similar devices for eligible officers to Rs 1.8 lakh (inclusive of taxes). Officers will be permitted to retain these devices after four years of use.

On November 10, the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance issued revised guidelines for the procurement of laptops by central government ministries and departments. Under these guidelines, officers holding the rank of Section Officer or above are eligible for these devices.

**Devices available to officers**
The guidelines state that eligible officers may be provided with laptops, tablets, notepads, ultrabooks, notebooks, or similar categories of devices for official government work.

These new guidelines supersede the previous instructions issued in July 2023. While the 2023 guidelines explicitly mentioned the procurement of mobile devices, the new Office Memorandum issued on November 10, 2023, makes no such reference.

According to the new guidelines, the cost of a device—excluding taxes—should not exceed Rs 1.50 lakh. However, for devices with a ‘Make in India’ (MII) component exceeding 40 percent, the maximum price limit is set at Rs 1.80 lakh. This price includes the cost of standard software.

Previously, under the 2023 guidelines, the maximum price limits for these devices were set at Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.30 lakh, respectively. All government officers at Pay Level 12 (as per the 7th Central Pay Commission) and above are eligible for these devices. Devices can be provided to only 50% of officers in pay levels 8 to 11.

Furthermore, these devices may be issued to a maximum of 50 percent of the officers within pay levels 8 to 11 in any given department. According to the guidelines, the Secretary of the concerned ministry or department, in consultation with the Financial Advisor, may authorize the provision of these devices to up to 75 percent of the sanctioned strength of officers in these pay levels, based on their work-related requirements. These devices will remain government property for a period of four years from the date of purchase.

However, as per the guidelines, the officer receiving the device will be personally responsible for the security of the data and information contained therein. After four years of use, the concerned officer may retain the device.

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