The strategic sale of Lucknow-based PSU Scooters India Ltd (SIL) may get postponed till Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, which are scheduled in April/May next year, sources said. “A lot depends upon the political will in terms of timings of stake sale,” an official said.
While the Union Cabinet had decided to divest its entire 95.38 per cent stake to a private player through a strategic route (outright sale), the government wants to get a Parliamentary nod for the same.
However, sources said that in the wake of the UP elections due next year, Congress leaders in the state are understood to have sought postponement of the SIL sale, for now. The state Congress leaders do not want it to be an election issue.
The automobile company with about 1,200 regular employees has been incurring losses, since 2002-03. In March 2009, the company was declared sick and referred to the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE).
Incorporated in 1972, SIL started commercial production of scooters under the brand name Vijai Super for domestic market and Lambretta for overseas market.
Later, it ventured into three-wheelers with the Vikram brand. However, in 1997 it stopped two-wheeler production and has been engaged into manufacturing and marketing of three-wheelers only.
After a recommendation by the BRPSE to revive Scooters India through disinvestment or joint venture, private firms are being looked as possible suitors. During the 2010-11 fiscal, SIL’s net loss stood at Rs 18.4 crore.