Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (BCPL) reported a profit of ₹4.1 crore in FY2016-17 after a loss of ₹9.1 crore the previous year. In a 2017 account, then managing director PM Chandraiah credited a mix of tighter controls, changes to staffing and attendance, higher production, and stronger sales efforts. The account describes management’s explanation—not a study showing how much each step contributed.
Which company returned to profit?
BCPL is a Kolkata-based Government of India enterprise whose predecessor was established in 1901 by chemist and entrepreneur Acharya P. C. Ray. Its businesses have spanned pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, cosmetics, and household products. The headline description “India’s oldest drugmaker” comes from the 2017 coverage; the available official sources establish the company’s history but do not independently rank every Indian drugmaker.
The company had been referred to the former Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction in 1992. The Department of Pharmaceuticals says a revival package was approved in December 2006. Its FY2025-26 annual report describes three manufacturing locations: Maniktala in Kolkata, Panihati in West Bengal, and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, as well as commercial space at the Mumbai unit. Products it names include phenol, naphthalene balls, bleaching powder, toilet and floor cleaners, and Cantharidine hair oil.
What did the 2017 financial results show?
Scroll’s 2017 report, originally published by Quartz, said BCPL made ₹4.1 crore in profit in FY2016-17, compared with a ₹9.1 crore loss in FY2015-16. It also reported FY2016-17 total income of ₹111 crore. These are figures as labelled in that contemporaneous report.
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| Financial year | Reported measure | Amount | Source and context |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2013-14 | Sales | ₹17.07 crore | Scroll/Quartz, 2017 |
| FY2014-15 | Sales | ₹45.84 crore | Scroll/Quartz, 2017; the report said sales rose 169% from the prior year |
| FY2015-16 | Sales | ₹88.19 crore | Scroll/Quartz, 2017 |
| FY2015-16 | Net result | Loss of ₹9.1 crore | Scroll/Quartz, 2017 |
| FY2016-17 | Total income | ₹111 crore | Scroll/Quartz, 2017 |
| FY2016-17 | Net result | Profit of ₹4.1 crore | Scroll/Quartz, 2017 |
| FY2024-25 | Turnover | ₹138.31 crore | Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, FY2025-26 annual report |
| FY2024-25 | Net profit | ₹21.14 crore | Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, FY2025-26 annual report |
The figures are not all the same accounting measure: the 2017 story gives total income and profit for FY2016-17, while the later government report gives turnover and net profit for FY2024-25. The Department calls FY2024-25 turnover the highest in BCPL’s history and reports profits from FY2016-17 onward through that year. The later results establish continued profitability in the reported period, not that the actions described in 2017 alone caused it.
What management said it changed
Chandraiah described the changes as a package of tighter financial oversight, workplace discipline, increased output, and more active selling. He said: “We blocked financial leakages, brought in better human resource management, made biometric attendance mandatory, and installed CCTV cameras to enforce discipline,” as quoted by Scroll/Quartz.
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- Financial controls: Management said it plugged financial leakages and restructured bank interest rates.
- Attendance and workplace oversight: It revised human-resource practices, required biometric attendance, and installed CCTV cameras.
- Labour relations and hours: Chandraiah said the company resolved labour-union problems and extended factory hours.
- Production and supply: The company increased manufacturing and supply, according to the 2017 account.
- Sales activity: Management became more active in bidding and marketing.
Chandraiah said, “We had to take some stern decisions.” The report presents these measures through his account; it does not quantify the effect of any individual action or establish an independent causal link between each change and the return to profit.
What were targets, and what was achieved?
The 2017 report also quoted goals of ₹20 crore profit and ₹200 crore revenue by 2020. Those were targets announced at the time, not reported FY2020 results. They should not be confused with the FY2016-17 figures or with the Department of Pharmaceuticals’ later FY2024-25 turnover and net-profit figures.
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What the turnaround can—and cannot—tell readers
BCPL’s reported return to profit followed a long period of losses and a government-approved revival package. The management account offers a concrete picture of what its leadership said it changed: controls, attendance, production, working hours, financing, labour relations, and marketing. But the available figures and interview do not isolate the contribution of those steps, so the story is evidence of a reported turnaround and management’s explanation for it—not proof that any single practice will produce the same outcome at another company.
Sources: Scroll/Quartz’s 2017 report; Department of Pharmaceuticals, Annual Report 2025-26; Department of Pharmaceuticals company information.
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