NEW DELHI, Feb. 4 -- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been knocked out of the race to develop India's fifth-generation stealth fighter jet or the AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft) programme, the first time that the state-run aircraft maker will not be involved in one of the country's most significant military projects, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday. Of the seven consortia of public and private sector firms that bid for the programme last year, three have met the mandatory criteria and progressed to the next stage of the evaluation process involving the submission of cost bids for building five AMCA prototypes and one structural test specimen, the officials added, asking not to be named. The names of the three players that will be issued requests for proposal for submitting their cost bids were not immediately known. The firms had responded to a call for expressions of interest (EoI) last June by the DRDO's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to shortlist companies capable of building prototypes, supporting flight test and certification of the indigenous stealth fighter....