Press Release

Press Release

April 17, 2026

BALAJI AGRO PRIVATE LIMITED
Rating Downgraded, Reaffirmed and Issuer not co-operating

Product	Quantum (Rs. Cr) (SEBI)	Quantum (Rs. Cr) (Other FSR)	Long Term Rating	Short Term Rating	Regulated By
Bank Loan Ratings	0.00	5.00	ACUITE B+ \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating*	-	RBI
Bank Loan Ratings	0.00	32.50	-	ACUITE A4 \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*	RBI
Total Outstanding	0.00	37.50	-	-	-
Total Withdrawn	0.00	0.00	-	-	-
* The issuer did not co-operate; based on best available information.

Note:- For activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of Financial Sector Regulators other than SEBI, the grievance / dispute redressal mechanisms and investor protection mechanisms provided by SEBI shall not be available.

Rating Rationale

Acuité has downgraded the long-term rating to 'ACUITE B+' (read as ACUITE B plus) from ‘ACUITE BB-’ (read as ACUITE double B minus) and reaffirmed the short term rating of ‘ACUITE A4’ (read as ACUITE A four) on the Rs. 37.50 crore bank facilities of Balaji Agro Private Limited on account of information risk. The rating continues to be flagged as "Issuer Not-Cooperating" and is based on the best available information.

About the Company

Incorporated in 2000 by Mr. Nand Kishore Agarwal and Mr. Raju Agarwal, Balaji Agro Private Limited (BAPL), a Kolkata-based company is engaged in the blending and export of tea under the brand names ‘Meri Chai’ and ‘Popular’. The company has two blending units at Maheshtala and Khiderpore (West Bengal) with combined installed capacity of 1 crore kg of tea per annum. Company is also engaged into warehouse rental business as it lease out its warehouses to reputed clients such as Bharti Airtel Ltd, V-guards industries Pvt Ltd, among others

Unsupported Rating

Not Applicable

Non-cooperation by the issuer/borrower:

Acuité has been requesting for data, information and undertakings from the rated entity for conducting surveillance & review of the rating. However, the issuer/borrower failed to submit such information before the due date. Acuité believes that information risk is a critical component in such ratings, and non-cooperation by the issuer along with unwillingness to provide information could be a sign of potential deterioration in its overall credit quality. This rating is, therefore, being flagged as “Issuer not-cooperating”, in line with prevailing SEBI regulations and Acuité’s policies.

Limitation regarding information availability

This rating is based on information available from sources other than the issuer / borrower (in the absence of information provided by the issuer / borrower) . Acuite endeavoured to gather information about the entity/industry from the public domain. Any rating with the suffix 'Issuer not cooperating' is assigned without any management interaction with the issuer entity or any data / information from the entity. Sometimes this non co-operation by a rated entity may be due to a result of deterioration in the credit risk profile of the entity. Therefore, Acuité cautions lenders and investors regarding the use of such information, on which the indicative credit rating is based.

Rating Sensitivity

Potential triggers (individual or collective) for an upward rating action:

Not Applicable

Potential triggers (individual or collective) for a downward rating action:

Not Applicable

Liquidity Position

"No information provided by the issuer / available for Acuite to comment upon."

Outlook

Not Applicable

Other Factors affecting Rating

None

Key Financials

Particulars	Unit	FY 22 (Actual)	FY 21 (Actual)
Operating Income	Rs. Cr.	267.57	268.38
PAT	Rs. Cr.	6.33	7.86
PAT Margin	(%)	2.37	2.93
Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth	Times	1.03	1.50
PBDIT/Interest	Times	2.31	2.29

Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA

Not Applicable

Any other information

None

Applicable Criteria

• Manufacturing Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-59.htm
• Default Recognition: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-52.htm
• Application Of Financial Ratios And Adjustments: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-53.htm

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument

In order to inform the investors about complexity of instruments, Acuité has categorized such instruments in three levels: Simple, Complex and Highly Complex. Acuite’s categorisation of the instruments across the three categories is based on factors like variability of the returns to the investors, uncertainty in cash flow patterns, number of counterparties and general understanding of the instrument by the market. It has to be understood that complexity is different from credit risk and even an instrument categorized as 'Simple' can carry high levels of risk. For more details, please refer Rating Criteria “Complexity Level Of Financial Instruments” on www.acuite.in.

Rating History

Date	Name of Instruments/Facilities	Term	Amount (Rs. Cr)	Rating/Outlook
17 Jan 2025	PC/PCFC	Short Term	24.00	ACUITE A4 (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE A4+)
	Letter of Credit	Short Term	2.00	ACUITE A4 (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE A4+)
	Proposed Short Term Bank Facility	Short Term	0.50	ACUITE A4 (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE A4+)
	Bills Discounting	Short Term	6.00	ACUITE A4 (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE A4+)
	Proposed Long Term Bank Facility	Long Term	0.20	ACUITE BB- (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BB)
	Secured Overdraft	Long Term	4.80	ACUITE BB- (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BB)
25 Oct 2023	PC/PCFC	Short Term	24.00	ACUITE A4+ (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
	Letter of Credit	Short Term	2.00	ACUITE A4+ (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
	Proposed Short Term Bank Facility	Short Term	0.50	ACUITE A4+ (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
	Bills Discounting	Short Term	6.00	ACUITE A4+ (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
	Proposed Long Term Bank Facility	Long Term	0.20	ACUITE BB (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
	Secured Overdraft	Long Term	4.80	ACUITE BB (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
* The issuer did not co-operate; based on best available information.

Annexure - Details of instruments rated

Lender’s Name	ISIN	Facilities	Listing Status	Regulated By	Date Of Issuance	Coupon Rate	Maturity Date	Quantum (Rs. Cr.)	Complexity Level	Rating
Punjab National Bank	Not avl. / Not appl.	Bills Discounting	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	6.00	Simple	ACUITE A4 \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
Punjab National Bank	Not avl. / Not appl.	Letter of Credit	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	2.00	Simple	ACUITE A4 \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
Punjab National Bank	Not avl. / Not appl.	PC/PCFC	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	24.00	Simple	ACUITE A4 \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
Not Applicable	Not avl. / Not appl.	Proposed Long Term Bank Facility	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	0.20	Simple	ACUITE B+ \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating* ( from ACUITE BB- )
Not Applicable	Not avl. / Not appl.	Proposed Short Term Bank Facility	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	0.50	Simple	ACUITE A4 \| Reaffirmed \| Issuer not co-operating*
AXIS BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Secured Overdraft	Unlisted	RBI	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	4.80	Simple	ACUITE B+ \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating* ( from ACUITE BB- )

* The issuer did not co-operate; based on best available information.

Disclosure of list of non-cooperative issuers

• Listed :- https://www.acuite.in/Non-Cooperative_Issuer_Listed.php
• Unlisted :- https://www.acuite.in/Non-Cooperative_Issuer_Unlisted.php

Contacts

Mohit Jain
Chief Analytical Officer - Rating Operations

Ujjwal Srivastva
Analyst - Rating Operations

Contact details exclusively for investors and lenders

Mob: +91 8591310146
Email ID: analyticalsupport@acuite.in

List of instruments and names of regulators of the instruments

As required by SEBI Circular (SEBI/HO/DDHS/DDHS-PoD-2/I/4685/2026) dated February 10, 2026, a list of activities or instruments falling under the purview of various Financial Sector Regulators (FSRs), along with the names of respective FSRs, is being disclosed below:
A. Rating Activity:

Sr. No.	Instrument / activity Name	Regulator of the instrument
1	Listed/Proposed to be listed Bonds/Debentures/Preference Shares (all securities)	SEBI
2	Unlisted/Proposed to be unlisted Bonds/Debentures/ Preference share (all securities)	MCA
3	Listed PTCs / Securitisation Notes (originated by entities regulated by RBI)¹	SEBI
4	Listed PTCs / Securitisation Notes (originated by entities not regulated by RBI)¹	SEBI
5	Unlisted PTCs / Securitisation Notes (originated by entities regulated by RBI)¹	RBI
6	Listed Commercial Paper and NCDs with original maturity less than 1 year	RBI
7	Unlisted Commercial Paper and NCDs with original maturity less than 1 year	RBI
8	Loan Facilities (Fund/Non-Fund Based) from Bank / NBFCs/ NHB/ FIs ²	RBI
9	External Commercial Borrowings and other similar borrowings	RBI
10	Certificates of Deposit	RBI
11	Fixed Deposits raised by NBFCs, Banks, HFCs, FIs	RBI
12	Fixed Deposits raised by corporates other than NBFCs, Banks, HFCs, FIs	MCA
13	Inter Corporate Deposits/Loans extended by Corporates	MCA
14	Borrowing programme ³	-
15	Issuer Ratings ⁴	-
16	Credit Ratings for Capital Protection Oriented Schemes (by Mutal Funds and AIFs)	SEBI
17	Credit quality ratings (CQRs) for Mutual Fund Schemes and Schemes of AIFs	SEBI
18	Listed Security Receipts	SEBI
19	Unlisted Security Receipts	RBI
20	Independent Credit Evaluation (ICE)	RBI
21	Expected Loss Ratings (For Loan Facilities [Fund/Non-Fund based] from Banks/NBFCs/NHB/FIs)	RBI
22	Expected Loss Ratings (Listed / Proposed to be listed Bonds / Debentures / Preference Shares (all securities))	SEBI
23	Expected Loss Ratings (Unlisted / Proposed to be unlisted Bonds/ Debentures / Preference Shares (all securities))	MCA
24	Unlisted PTCs / Securitisation Notes (originated by entities not regulated by RBI) ¹	Investor-side Regulator such as IRDAI, PFRDA ⁵

¹Includes securitisation transactions involving assignee payout, acquirer's payout.

² Includes bank facilities such as liquidity facility, second loss facility that are part of securitisation transactions.
³There is no instrument being rated and hence, Regulator of the Instrument is not applicable. The rating scale and definitions are being followed as stipulated in SEBI Master Circular for CRAs.
⁴ The rated instrument may involve issuance of different instruments such as debt securities (listed or otherwise), bank loans, commercial paper (listed or otherwise), etc. The regulator of the instrument may accordingly be SEBI, RBI or MCA and can only be determined upon issuance. In Press Release(s) subsequent to issuance(s), Acuite shall separately capture the rated quantum details along with names of respective regulators.
⁵ These ratings were assigned during regulatory regime prior to the introduction of SEBI CRA Circular dated Feb 10, 2026 and accordingly, investor side regulators have been included.

B. Other activities:

Sr. No.	Activity Name	Regulator of the activity
1	Monitoring Agency	SEBI
2	Research activities, incidental to rating, such as research for Economy, Industries and Companies ⁶	Not applicable

⁶ permitted by SEBI vide SEBI Master Circular for CRAs.

Disclosure on instruments / activities and names of regulators:

A list of products/activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of various financial sector regulators (FSRs) along with the names of respective FSRs has also been duly disclosed by Acuite on its website. A link to the same has been provided below for ready reference:

https://acuite.in/Activities-and-Regulators.html

About Acuité Ratings & Research

Acuité is a full-service Credit Rating Agency registered with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The company received RBI Accreditation as an External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI) for Bank Loan Ratings under BASEL-II norms in the year 2012. Acuité has assigned ratings to various securities, debt instruments and bank facilities of entities spread across the country and across a wide cross section of industries. It has its Registered and Head Office in Kanjurmarg, Mumbai.

Disclaimer: An Acuité rating does not constitute an audit of the rated entity and should not be treated as a recommendation or opinion that is intended to substitute for a financial adviser's or investor's independent assessment of whether to buy, sell or hold any security. Ratings assigned by Acuité are based on the data and information provided by the issuer and obtained from other reliable sources. Although reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the data and information is true, Acuité, in particular, makes no representation or warranty, expressed or implied with respect to the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of the information relied upon. Acuité is not responsible for any errors or omissions and especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential loss of any kind, arising from the use of its ratings. Ratings assigned by Acuité are subject to a process of surveillance which may lead to a revision in ratings as and when the circumstances so warrant. Please visit our website (www.acuite.in) for the latest information on any instrument rated by Acuité. Please visit https://www.acuite.in/faqs.htm to refer FAQs on Credit Rating.

Note: None of the Directors on the Board of Acuité Ratings & Research Limited are members of any rating committee and therefore do not participate in discussions regarding the rating of any entity.