A ministry or department may outsource certain non-consulting services in the interest of economy and efficiency, a government statement said.
 
They can prescribe detailed instructions and procedures for this purpose without contravening the basic guidelines provided in rule 199 to 206 of “General Financial Rules 2017” (GFR 2017), said Union Minister Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. 
 
As each ministry/department is competent to procure services at their level to meet seasonal or short-term requirements, the centralised data is not maintained in this regard.
 
There are detailed procedures laid down for procurement of such non-consulting services including e-procurement in Chapter 6 of the GFR 2017 and the “Manual for Procurement of Consultancy & Other Services, 2017”, said the statement.  
 
Ministries are competent to decide the mode depending on the nature of work, nature of competency required, etc. 
 
Any deviation or violation can be dealt by the ministry appropriately and wages for the persons engaged on contract/outsourcing can't be less than the minimum wage fixed/notified by the state government concerned.
 
The government posts are regularly filled up in accordance with the recruitment rules. Each ministry/department is responsible for appointment of regular employees against vacant posts after completing all procedural formalities.