Centre relaxes gift policy for babus, limit raised to Rs 25,000

NEW DELHI: Civil servants can now accept gifts up to Rs 25,000 from relatives and personal friends on occasions such as weddings etc, without reporting the same to the government. Gifts from other contacts may be received without government sanction as long as their value does not exceed Rs 5,000, according to the amended provisions of the All India Service (Conduct) Rules, 1968, relating to gifts.

The Rs 5,000-limit shall cover free transportation, boarding and lodging.

The rules prior to the amendment required bureaucrats to report gifts exceeding Rs 5,000 from near relatives and personal friends, and those exceeding Rs 1,000 from others, to the government.

As per the new rules, "a member of the service may accept gifts from his near relatives or from his personal friends having no official dealings with them, on occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, funerals and religious functions when the of giving of gifts is in conformity with the prevailing religious and social practice, but they have to make a report to the government if the value of such a gift exceeds Rs 25,000".

For persons other than relatives or friends, the rules now state that "no member of the service shall accept any gift without the sanction of the government if the value of the gift exceeds Rs 5,000". This rule, however, would not apply to casual meals, casual lift or other social hospitality.

Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) are the three all-India services.