Centre seeks riders for Scooters India

The government has invited expression of interest (EoI) to sell its entire stake with transfer of management control in loss-making listed firm Scooters India (SIL), which manufactures threewheelers under the brandname 'Vikram'.

In a global invitation, the heavy industry ministry has asked interested parties to submit the EoI on or before May 7, 2018. Scooters India (SIL) is a PSU under the administrative control of the ministry. The government had ‘in-principle' decided to disinvest 100 per cent of its equity shareholding in SIL (which is equivalent to 93.74 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital of SIL) through strategic disinvestment with transfer of management control.

The government, through the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, has appointed Resurgent India as its advisor to manage the transaction. The board of directors of SIL, in its meeting held on February 26, had accorded its consent to hive off noncore land of 89.69 acres out of total land of 147.499 acres subject to approval of shareholders and other regulatory authorities as applicable.

In 1975, SIL started its commercial production of scooters under the brand name of Vijay Super for domestic market and Lambretta for overseas market.

However, in 1997, SIL strategically discontinued its two-wheeler production and concentrated only on manufacturing and marketing of three-wheelers.