Eligible central government officers can retain their official laptops, tablets and similar devices after four years of use, under revised guidelines issued by the Finance Ministry's Department of Expenditure in an office memorandum dated November 10, 2026, The Hindu BusinessLine reported.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

The memorandum says laptops, tablets, notepads, ultra-books, notebooks and devices of similar categories may be issued to eligible officers for official work. The new guidelines replace the July 2023 instructions on such purchases.

Ceilings: ₹1.5 lakh, or ₹1.8 lakh for Make-in-India devices

The cost of a device shall not exceed ₹1.50 lakh plus taxes, the memorandum says; for devices with a Make-in-India component of more than 40 per cent, the ceiling is ₹1.80 lakh plus taxes. The ceiling includes the cost of standard software. The 2023 guidelines had set the ceilings at ₹1 lakh and ₹1.3 lakh respectively.

Source: Upstox (DoE memorandum summary)

On eligibility, all officers in Pay Level 12 and above (under the 7th Central Pay Commission) in a ministry are covered — 100 per cent of sanctioned strength — while officers in Pay Levels 8 to 11 are covered up to 50 per cent of a department's sanctioned strength.

A device remains government property for up to four years from purchase; after four years of usage, the officer shall retain it. Officers who retire or leave service before four years can retain the device by paying its depreciated book value, calculated at 25 per cent annual depreciation, ANI reported via NewKerala.

Source: ANI via NewKerala

The rules apply to central government ministries and departments, including attached and subordinate offices; ministers and their personal staff, public sector undertakings, state governments, autonomous and statutory bodies and consultants are outside the memorandum's purview, according to the reports.