Smita's Kolkata Chronicles

Stephen George Balmer and Alexander Lawrie were two Scottish entrepreneurs, who founded the Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. at Kolkata on 1 st February, 1867 . The founding fathers had formed the Company as an ‘Agency House’ and the agency business was primarily in trading.  The range of business spanned over Tea, Shipping, Insurance, Banking, Trading and Manufacturing. The initial products included tea leaves, tea seeds, kerosene, pharmaceuticals, wines and lubricating oils.  It was the sole agent of Calcutta to manufacture one of the first Scotch whiskies – Lafroaig Islay.  A significant part of Balmer Lawrie's business was managing and transferring Indian military pensions to those who returned to Britain post Independence. The Company’s presence in diverse business is its strength. It became a private limited company in 1924 with a paid up share capital of ₹40 lakhs, a public limited company in 1936 and then a Government of India Enterprise in 1972. With the abolition of the M