The Central Government has introduced stricter norms governing the use of official vehicles, mandating that every officer will be entitled to only one government vehicle, even if entrusted with additional responsibilities across multiple ministries or organisations.
The directive, issued through an Office Memorandum by the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance, seeks to curb the misuse of government vehicles, improve resource utilisation and reduce public expenditure.
Under the revised policy, officers who are already allotted an official vehicle will not be eligible for another vehicle after being given additional charge of a ministry, department, public sector undertaking (PSU) or autonomous body. The “One Officer, One Official Car” rule will apply across all such assignments.
The memorandum also bars Central Government officials from using vehicles belonging to PSUs, autonomous bodies or semi-government organisations for routine official purposes. Such vehicles may only be used while the officer is present at the concerned institution on official duty.
In another key measure, ministries and departments have been instructed to ensure that unused government vehicles remain parked at designated locations and are not deployed unnecessarily. Departments have also been asked to strengthen monitoring of official vehicle usage.
According to the Finance Ministry, the latest order is intended to reinforce and ensure stricter implementation of the guidelines issued in September 2022.
The government said the policy is aimed at promoting efficient utilisation of public resources, reducing avoidable expenditure on fuel, maintenance and vehicle operations, while improving transparency, accountability and financial discipline in the functioning of government departments.