Debt service coverage ratio

Cash available for debt service divided by the interest and principal falling due in the period. Unlike interest cover it includes repayment, which is what actually causes defaults.

A company with ₹1,340 crore of EBITDA facing ₹140 crore of interest and ₹260 crore of scheduled repayment covers 3.35 times.

The ratio is standard in project and infrastructure finance, where the asset generates a contracted cash flow and the entire question is whether that flow services the loan. Lenders typically want at least 1.2 to 1.3 times in those structures, with a reserve account on top.

For a corporate borrower it exposes something the leverage ratios hide: a bullet repayment. A firm comfortable on every other measure can fail because ₹900 crore falls due in one year and the refinancing market closed.

Build it year by year off the maturity table.