ABSTRACT
The evidence on cost saving is not convincing in all cases. Certainly in some instances where the fees charged by foreign consultants are high there could be a foreign exchange and real resource saving when a competent local consultant is employed.18 There are also instances of real resource savings on material inputs of project costs through the intervention of local consultants, e.g. when foreign engineering contractors' proposals neglect the availability of local materials and expertise or when they over-specify structures and machine capacities. There is a case where N. M. Dastur and Co. (the Indian consultants) persuaded the Soviet agencyTiazhpromexport to reconsider the design and specifications of the steel project at Bokaro which resulted in a reduction in the estimated cost of Rs 9SM [C.P.U., 1970, p. 21]. In other instances the intervention of Indian consultancy services has diminished the import content of projects.17 Indigenous consultants' knowledge of the physical characteristics of raw materials and manufactured inputs and of marketing conditions has undoubtedly contributed in certain instances to the operational efficiency of industrial projects. To offset these real advantages, however, there are other projects where dependence on imported technology limits the usefulness of the local consultant and may lead to duplication of effort. To have local consultants may improve the quality of decision making but not directly lower project costs.
