Report by a KEC correspondent
Disregarding the opinion expressed by Public Sector employees as well as innumerable people across the length and breadth of our country, the Central Government continues to dance to the tune of monopoly corporates. Now on its crosshairs is the HLL Lifecare Ltd, a healthcare public sector undertaking (PSU) headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram.
Is India really a democracy? Disregarding the opinion expressed by Public Sector employees as well as innumerable people across the length and breadth of our country, the Central Government continues to dance to the tune of monopoly corporates. Now on its crosshairs is the HLL Lifecare Ltd, a healthcare public sector undertaking (PSU) headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram.
The government has invited global expressions of interest (EOI) to sell off its full share in HLL Lifecare (and hence give over management control), though the company recorded a net profit of Rs. 112.33 crore in the fiscal year 2020-21. This is an increase from the Rs. 110.48 crore in the previous fiscal, despite the Covid-induced slowdown.
HLL Lifecare, whose earlier name was Hindustan Latex Ltd, is the maker of condoms and pregnancy prevention intrauterine devices.
It has factories in four locations in Kerala – Peroorkada and Akkulam (both Thiruvananthapuram) and Kakkanad and Irapuram (both Kochi) and three others at Kangala in Belgaum (Karnataka), Manesar (Gurugram), and Indore (Madhya Pradesh).
In consonance with its policy to strengthen and revive PSUs, the LDF government in Kerala sent a letter to the Centre expressing the government’s interest in taking over the Kerala units of the PSU. It had earlier bought the Vellore unit of Hindustan Newsprint Ltd, a Central PSU. The case of HLL may run into problems since the Kerala government is keen to acquire PSU’s only in the state.