We have audited the standalone financial statements of
CARE Ratings Limited (the "Company”) which comprise
the standalone balance sheet as at 31 March 2025, and
the standalone statement of profit and loss (including
other comprehensive income), standalone statement of
changes in equity and standalone statement of cash flows
for the year then ended, and notes to the standalone
financial statements, including material accounting
policies and other explanatory information.

In our opinion and to the best of our information and
according to the explanations given to us, the aforesaid
standalone financial statements give the information
required by the Companies Act, 2013 ("Act”) in the manner
so required and give a true and fair view in conformity with
the accounting principles generally accepted in India, of
the state of affairs of the Company as at 31 March 2025,
and its profit and other comprehensive loss, changes in
equity and its cash flows for the year ended on that date.

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with the
Standards on Auditing (SAs) specified under Section
143(10) of the Act. Our responsibilities under those SAs
are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for
the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements section
of our report. We are independent of the Company
in accordance with the Code of Ethics issued by the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India together with
the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of
the standalone financial statements under the provisions
of the Act and the Rules thereunder, and we have fulfilled
our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with
these requirements and the Code of Ethics. We believe
that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient
and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion on the
standalone financial statements.

Key Audit Matter(s)

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our
professional judgment, were of most significance in our
audit of the standalone financial statements of the current
period. These matters were addressed in the context of
our audit of the standalone financial statements as a
whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not
provide a separate opinion on these matters.

Other Information

The Company’s Management and Board of Directors
are responsible for the other information. The other
information comprises the information included in the
Company’s annual report, but does not include the
financial statements and auditor’s report thereon.

Our opinion on the standalone financial statements does
not cover the other information and we do not express
any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the standalone financial
statements, our responsibility is to read the other
information and, in doing so, consider whether the other
information is materially inconsistent with the standalone
financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the
audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If,
based on the work we have performed, we conclude that
there is a material misstatement of this other information,
we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to
report in this regard.

Management’s and Board of Directors’
Responsibilities for the Standalone Financial
Statements

The Company’s Management and Board of Directors are
responsible for the matters stated in Section 134(5) of the
Act with respect to the preparation of these standalone
financial statements that give a true and fair view of the
state of affairs, profit/ loss and other comprehensive
income, changes in equity and cash flows of the Company
in accordance with the accounting principles generally
accepted in India, including the Indian Accounting
Standards (Ind AS) specified under Section 133 of the Act.
This responsibility also includes maintenance of adequate
accounting records in accordance with the provisions of
the Act for safeguarding of the assets of the Company
and for preventing and detecting frauds and other
irregularities; selection and application of appropriate
accounting policies; making judgments and estimates that
are reasonable and prudent; and design, implementation
and maintenance of adequate internal financial controls,
that were operating effectively for ensuring the accuracy
and completeness of the accounting records, relevant
to the preparation and presentation of the standalone
financial statements that give a true and fair view and
are free from material misstatement, whether due to
fraud or error.

In preparing the standalone financial statements, the
Management and Board of Directors are responsible for
assessing the Company’s ability to continue as a going
concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to
going concern and using the going concern basis of
accounting unless the Board of Directors either intends
to liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or has
no realistic alternative but to do so.

The Board of Directors is also responsible for overseeing
the Company’s financial reporting process.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the
Standalone Financial Statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether the standalone financial statements as a whole
are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud
or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes
our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of
assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted
in accordance with SAs will always detect a material
misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from
fraud or error and are considered material if, individually
or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected
to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the
basis of these standalone financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance with SAs, we exercise
professional judgment and maintain professional
skepticism throughout the audit. We also:

• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement
of the standalone financial statements, whether
due to fraud or error, design and perform audit
procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain
audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate
to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not
detecting a material misstatement resulting from
fraud is higher than for one resulting from error,
as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional
omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of
internal control.

• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant
to the audit in order to design audit procedures that
are appropriate in the circumstances. Under Section
143(3)(i) of the Act, we are also responsible for
expressing our opinion on whether the company has

adequate internal financial controls with reference
to financial statements in place and the operating
effectiveness of such controls.

• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies
used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates
and related disclosures made by the Management
and Board of Directors.

• Conclude on the appropriateness of the Management
and Board of Directors use of the going concern
basis of accounting in preparation of standalone
financial statements and, based on the audit
evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty
exists related to events or conditions that may
cast significant doubt on the Company’s ability to
continue as a going concern. If we conclude that
a material uncertainty exists, we are required to
draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related
disclosures in the standalone financial statements
or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our
opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit
evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s
report. However, future events or conditions may
cause the Company to cease to continue as a
going concern.

• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and
content of the standalone financial statements,
including the disclosures, and whether the
standalone financial statements represent the
underlying transactions and events in a manner that
achieves fair presentation.

We communicate with those charged with governance
regarding, among other matters, the planned scope
and timing of the audit and significant audit findings,
including any significant deficiencies in internal control
that we identify during our audit.

We also provide those charged with governance with
a statement that we have complied with relevant
ethical requirements regarding independence, and to
communicate with them all relationships and other
matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our
independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.

From the matters communicated with those charged
with governance, we determine those matters that
were of most significance in the audit of the standalone
financial statements of the current period and are
therefore the key audit matters. We describe these
matters in our auditor’s report unless law or regulation
precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in
extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter
should not be communicated in our report because the
adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably
be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of
such communication.

Report on Other Legal and Regulatory
Requirements

1. As required by the Companies (Auditor’s Report)
Order, 2020 ("the Order”) issued by the Central
Government of India in terms of Section 143(11) of
the Act, we give in the "Annexure A” a statement on
the matters specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the
Order, to the extent applicable.

2A. As required by Section 143(3) of the Act, we report that:

a. We have sought and obtained all the information
and explanations which to the best of our
knowledge and belief were necessary for the
purposes of our audit.

b. In our opinion, proper books of account as
required by law have been kept by the Company
so far as it appears from our examination of
those books except for the matter stated in
the paragraph 2(B)(f) below on reporting
under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and
Auditors) Rules, 2014.

c. The standalone balance sheet, the standalone
statement of profit and loss (including other
comprehensive income), the standalone
statement of changes in equity and the
standalone statement of cash flows dealt
with by this Report are in agreement with the
books of account.

d. In our opinion, the aforesaid standalone financial
statements comply with the Ind AS specified
under Section 133 of the Act.

e. On the basis of the written representations
received from the directors between 01 April
2025 and 14 April 2025 taken on record by
the Board of Directors, none of the directors
is disqualified as on 31 March 2025 from being
appointed as a director in terms of Section
164(2) of the Act.

f. the modification relating to the maintenance
of accounts and other matters connected
therewith are as stated in the paragraph 2(A)
(b) above on reporting under Section 143(3)
(b) of the Act and paragraph 2(B)(f) below on
reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies
(Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014.

g. With respect to the adequacy of the internal
financial controls with reference to financial
statements of the Company and the operating
effectiveness of such controls, refer to our
separate Report in "Annexure B”.

B. With respect to the other matters to be included in
the Auditor’s Report in accordance with Rule 11 of
the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014, in
our opinion and to the best of our information and
according to the explanations given to us:

a. The Company has disclosed the impact of
pending litigations as at 31 March 2025 on its
financial position in its standalone financial
statements - Refer Note 29 to the standalone
financial statements.

b. The Company did not have any long-term
contracts including derivative contracts for
which there were any material foreseeable losses.

c. There were no amounts which were required
to be transferred to the Investor Education and
Protection Fund by the Company.

d(i) The management has represented that, to the
best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed
in the Note 46 to the standalone financial
statements, no funds have been advanced or
loaned or invested (either from borrowed funds
or share premium or any other sources or kind
of funds) by the Company to or in any other
person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities
("Intermediaries”), with the understanding,
whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that
the Intermediary shall directly or indirectly lend
or invest in other persons or entities identified
in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the
Company ("Ultimate Beneficiaries”) or provide
any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of
the Ultimate Beneficiaries.

(ii) The management has represented that, to the
best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed
in the Note 46 to the standalone financial
statements, no funds have been received by
the Company from any person(s) or entity(ies),
including foreign entities ("Funding Parties”),
with the understanding, whether recorded in
writing or otherwise, that the Company shall
directly or indirectly, lend or invest in other
persons or entities identified in any manner
whatsoever by or on behalf of the Funding
Parties ("Ultimate Beneficiaries”) or provide any
guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the
Ultimate Beneficiaries.

(iii) Based on the audit procedures that have been
considered reasonable and appropriate in
the circumstances, nothing has come to our
notice that has caused us to believe that the
representations under sub-clause (i) and (ii) of
Rule 11(e), as provided under (i) and (ii) above,
contain any material misstatement.

e. The final dividend paid by the Company during
the year in respect of the same declared for
the previous year is in accordance with section
123 of the Companies Act 2013 to the extent it
applies to payment of dividend.

The interim dividend declared and paid by the
Company during the year and until the date of
this audit report is in accordance with section
123 of the Companies Act 2013.

As stated in Note 39 to the standalone financial
statements, the Board of Directors of the
Company have proposed final dividend for
the year which is subject to the approval of
the members at the ensuing Annual General
Meeting. The dividend declared is in accordance
with section 123 of the Act to the extent it
applies to declaration of dividend.

f. Based on our examination which included test
checks, the Company has used an accounting
software for maintaining its books of account
which has a feature of recording audit trail
(edit log) facility and the same has operated
throughout the year for all relevant transactions
recorded in the software. Further, during the
course of our audit, we did not come across any
instance of audit trail feature being tampered
with. The audit trail has been preserved by the
Company as per the statutory requirements
for record retention except for the periods
where audit trail was not enabled or where
independent auditors’ reports for softwares
operated by third party service providers were
not available in the prior year.

C. With respect to the matter to be included in the Auditor’s Report under Section 197(16) of the Act:

In our opinion and according to the information and explanations given to us, the remuneration paid by the
Company to its directors during the current period is in accordance with the provisions of Section 197 of the Act.
The remuneration paid to any director is not in excess of the limit laid down under Section 197 of the Act. The
Ministry of Corporate Affairs has not prescribed other details under Section 197(16) of the Act which are required
to be commented upon by us.

For B S R & Co. LLP

Chartered Accountants
Firm’s Registration No.:101248W/W-100022

Ajit Viswanath

Partner

Place: Mumbai Membership No.: 067114

Date: 12 May 2025 ICAI UDIN:25067114BMLCLH2285