Centre relaxes gift policy for employees, hikes monetary limits

The Government of India has increased more than threefold the threshold of the monetary value of gifts its employees can receive, officials said on Tuesday. Officials under Group A and Group B cannot accept any gift without the nod of the government if the value exceeds Rs 5,000. The limit was Rs 1,500. Similarly, Group C employees will be able to accept gifts valued up to Rs 2,000 instead of Rs 500 without taking government approval. Government employees under Group A are senior officials. Those under Group B could be gazetted or non-gazetted.