India's zombie firms drop to 14.2% of listed companies, D&B finds (opens the source in a new tab)
- A Dun & Bradstreet study of about 6,000 listed firms, reported by Mint, calls a company stressed when its operating profit falls short of its interest bill, and a zombie after three such years. The share stressed or zombie fell to 14.2% in 2025 from 23.5% in 2020.
- Of 971 firms that were zombies at some point since 2015, about 43% had fully or partly recovered by 2025, but a quarter were still zombies.
- A BIS paper ranks India second of 10 Asian economies for zombie firms and blames weak banks that keep rolling over bad loans.
- 14.2%
- stressed or zombie firms in 2025
- 971
- firms classed as zombies since 2015
Why it matters Zombies hold on to credit and staff that healthier firms could use; the BIS estimates the drag at about 0.2 percentage points a year on growth and inflation. For investors, an interest-cover ratio below 1 is an early warning worth checking.
Other side The study covers only listed firms and drops the tag after two good years, so it may flatter recovery; the BIS's stricter test finds more. Some firms, like Bharti Airtel, were sound businesses that recovered, so the label alone is no verdict.
Source:Mint (free to read) ↗