All central ministries asked to submit detailed report of consultants appointed by them

The Ministry of Finance, on October 4, had sent a letter to all the central government ministries asking them to submit detailed information about the consultants they have hired.

In its letter, the finance ministry has said that this “information is required for meaningful discussion for allocation of Budget under the Professional/ Office expenses/ Salary head”.

The details that are to be submitted include the process of selection of consultants, their strength, tenure, and remuneration, according to a report by the Indian Express.

The finance ministry had also asked all the other ministries to consider the issue a "Top Priority" and had given October 9 as the submission deadline. However, a number of ministries are yet to furnish the required data, the publication noted.

A senior official of the ministry also told IE, “We have no clear idea of the strength of professionals from outside. There are some departments under which many hundred people work as consultants, and some of them are paid very high.”

Some Indian government departments use consultants from top firms like EY, PwC, Deloitte, and McKinsey. While some of them work from the offices of the ministries and departments under them, others are engaged in field work.

Ministries like Rural Development, Health and Family Welfare, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Education, Women and Child Development, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Forest and Climate Change, Environment, and the NITI Aayog have hired a large number of consultants over the years.

The Department of Economic Affairs carried out a similar operation in 2015, but it was limited to advisors employed by outside organizations. A committee made up of the secretaries of three departments examined this.