Founded by two Scotsmen, George Stephen Balmer and Alexander Lawrie, in 1867 in Kolkata, India, Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. started as a Partnership Firm on 1 February 1867. Today Balmer Lawrie is a Mini-Ratna I Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, with a turnover of ₹2895 crores and a profit of ₹234 crores as of March 31, 2016.