Actually
While some of that will come from ADA and the defence ministry itself, much will depend on the people who are hired.
G Mohan Kumar, former defence secretary, says the key challenge for any private player who gets the contract is to mobilise resources and manpower: "It is a question of putting together an entire ecosystem of people who can build the parts for it. We have some ecosystem already there for the Tejas."
That means, if all goes to plan, the AMCA contract will end up signalling a hiring spree from the manufacturer who wins it. Singh says, "Whoever wins will poach liberally from the existing ecosystem. Why would they not? The reality is that institutional memory can be bought."
It isn't really an option. Kumar says, "The private sector can bring in innovations because they can bring in the best people."
Expect a major spike in demand for both retired HAL and ADA hands as well as those who work up and down the aerospace ecosystem, even globally. As Singh points out, "They are not bound by government pay scales and recruiting rules. If you can write a cheque large enough, you can get anyone to stroll over."
Singh also warns the private sector against unrealistically low bidding. "You often see overambitious bidding. There is nothing that can prevent a super low bid. But when that happens, the programme has every chance of going off the rails. We have seen it in other sectors. Putting in a realistic bid is critical"
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