The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) spends its days selling the government’s assets. Now it is trying to squeeze some value from its own old office equipment.
Dipam has invited sealed bids for a lot that includes old laptops, desktops, printers, air-conditioners, furniture and even a three-seater sofa. The items will go to the highest bidder on an “as is where is” basis, according to two government officials and an official document reviewed by Mint.
The inventory is a snapshot of an office accumulated over the years. Some of the equipment dates back more than two decades, including machines bought in 2005-06, Apple MacBooks purchased in 2011, and Dell and HP laptops bought between 2010 and 2013. Other machines are from HCL, Acer, IBM and Lenovo. Several electronic devices are specifically marked as “not working”, according to the document.
There are also printers and scanners from HP, Samsung, Kyocera and Brother, as well as fax machines and multi-function printers.
The less conventional items include air purifiers, air-conditioners, water dispensers, heaters, ovens, fans, televisions and telephone equipment. Among the furniture and other office items are chairs, meeting tables, computer tables, steel and wooden drawers, curtains, whiteboards, floor mats, wooden stands, keyboard stands and even plywood gates.
There are also banner stands, suitcases, iron stands, wall clocks, trolleys, treadmills and paper shredders. Scrap material includes batteries, UPS-related items and other obsolete equipment.
Electronic waste will have to be handled through authorized dismantlers or recyclers in accordance with applicable e-waste rules.
“Several printers and other pieces of equipment acquired over the years have also been listed for disposal, with some classified as ‘not working’,” said the first government official, requesting anonymity.
“We have not estimated how much money will be realised from the sale of these old assets. The amount will depend on the bids received,” said the second official, who also did not want to be named.
Queries emailed to the DIPAM secretary and the spokesperson of the finance ministry remained unanswered till press time.
Big sales, small clean-up
The disposal comes as DIPAM is itself in the middle of a busy asset-sale programme. The department has already raised nearly three-fourths of its ₹80,000-crore asset-sale target for fiscal year 2027 (FY27), putting it on a stronger footing to meet its goal.
Dipam raised ₹16,885.56 crore against the ₹47,000-crore disinvestment target in FY26.
As Mint reported on 10 August, the sharp pace of fundraising has been driven largely by offer-for-sale (OFS) transactions in public-sector companies, which generated ₹51,787 crore, or almost 90% of the total raised so far this financial year.
Against that backdrop, DIPAM’s latest sale is considerably more modest: instead of stakes in public-sector companies, it is clearing out the equipment that has outlived its use, from decade-old computers to office furniture.