Lok Sabha Question No. 1478 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-29
Subject: Appointment of Consultants
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Dharmendra Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1478 ANSWERED ON 29/07/2025

## APPOINTMENT OF CONSULTANTS

## 1478. Shri DharmendraYadav:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of consultants/advisors appointed in the Ministry of Rural Development, category-wise (UR/OBC/SC/ST);
- (b) the  number  of  consultants/advisors  appointed  against  the regular posts out of them;
- (c) the  number  of  consultants/advisors  appointed  against  the temporary posts or under the schemes run by the Ministry of Rural Development;
- (d) whether  the  Constitutional  provisions  of  reservation  roster have been adhered in making these appointments;
- (e) if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (f) the  details  of  the  Act,  Rules,  Office  Memorandum  of  the Government under which these Constitutional provisions have been superseded?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. CHANDRA SEKHAR PEMMASANI)

(a) to (f): The Ministry of Rural Development comprises two departments viz - the Department of Rural Development (DoRD) and the Department of Land Resources (DoLR). Under this Ministry, the Department of Rural Development is engaged in the implementation of  several  flagship  programs  of  the  Government  of  India  -  the Pradhan MantriAwaasYojanaGramin (PMAY-G), Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana  (PMGSY),  DeendayalAntyodayaYojana-  National  Rural Livelihoods  Mission  (DAY-NRLM),  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Deen DayalUpadhyayGrameenKaushalyaYojana (DDU-GKY) and the National Social Assistance Program (NSAP), etc.. All these flagship

programmes  are  implemented  through  a  dedicated  Management Information  System  using  innovative  IT  solutions.  The  Department of Land Resources (DoLR) is engaged in the exercise of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) and Watershed  Dev.  Component-Pradhan  MantriKrishiSinchayeeYojana 2.0.  Therefore,  it  is  seen  that  the  workload  in  this  Ministry  has significantly increased.

The  Ministry  of  Rural  Development  has  hired  consultants  to facilitate  the  smooth  implementation  of  its  flagship  programmes and to support the Officers  engaged in different  programme divisions  of  the  Ministry.  The  Consultants  also  provide  support  for facilitating smooth day-to-day coordination of the Ministry with the States/UTs, enabling the Officers to focus on core policy issues and ensure the meeting of milestones within the set deadline.

As on 25.07.2025, a total of 325 consultants were hired with different divisions of the DoRD and 37 consultants were hired by the DoLR. These consultants are hired through Institutions, Autonomous bodies,  Public  Sector  Enterprises,  etc.  The  Consultants  are  hired after  following  due  process  with  the  approval  of  the  Competent Authority,  thereby  ensuring  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the General  Financial  Rules  (GFR)  and  other  extant  instructions.  The remuneration  of  the  consultants  is  paid  from  the  funds  made available to this Ministry as Budget support. The category-wise data of the Consultants is not available with this Ministry.

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