Capital employed

Total assets minus current liabilities. It represents the long-term funding of the business, from both lenders and owners.

With ₹6,200 crore of assets and ₹1,900 crore of current liabilities, a company employs ₹4,300 crore.

Deducting current liabilities does real work, and it's more than tidying. Supplier credit funds part of the asset base at no cost, and counting it as capital the company must earn a return on would penalise a business for negotiating good terms.

Short-term borrowings are the awkward case. They sit among current liabilities, but they are financing, so most careful definitions add them back.

Choose once. Then never change it mid-series.