India, Oct. 2 -- Calling it "loot of the government", information technology minister Ashish Shelar said on Wednesday that the 246 consultants appointed through consultancy firms must be closely monitored as they have been drawing four to five times their remuneration. These consultants, engaged though high-profile consultancy firms such as KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers, were able to pull off this "loot" as each of them has been simultaneously appointed by more than one government department.

Pointing to loot at an altogether different level, Shelar said the government will also monitor whether the consulting firms pay these 246 consultants, all of them IT specialists, as well as 2,200 other administrative staff, the actual remuneratio...