Screener.in is the most popular fundamental stock screener in India, built by Pratyush Mittal and Ayush Mittal. Free tier allows 10 saved screens and 10 watchlists. Paid tier (₹1,500/year) gives unlimited screens, custom queries, exports to Excel, and access to peer comparisons. Key features: pre-built screens (Magic Formula, Coffee Can portfolio, etc.), 10 years of historical financials for every NSE/BSE-listed company, custom query language using simple syntax (e.g., "Return on capital employed > 15 AND Debt to equity < 0.5"), and concise company pages with quarterly results, ratios, shareholding, and announcements. The gold standard for retail Indian fundamental research.

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Aug 22, 2026 | 10 min read | By Simplegence

Stock Screening in India — Filtering 5,000 Stocks Down to 50

Q: What screens work well for Indian stocks?

Five proven screens for Indian markets. (1) Quality compounders: ROCE >18%, debt/equity 12%, profit CAGR 5-yr >15%. Returns 30-50 stocks; (2) Deep value: PE 2%, debt/equity 20%, ROCE >15%. Peter Lynch style; (4) Dividend aristocrats: dividend yield >2.5%, dividend payout consistent 10 years, debt/equity 15%, ROCE recovering. Combine 2-3 screens depending on market conditions.

Q: What are common screening mistakes?

Five mistakes that produce useless screen results. (1) Single-year filters — using only latest-year ROCE misses cyclical companies in down years; always use 3-yr or 5-yr averages; (2) No quality filter alongside cheap valuation — PE under 10 finds many junk stocks; combine with debt/equity and ROCE filters; (3) Ignoring sector context — banks naturally have high debt/equity (8-10), so a generic debt screen excludes all banks; build sector-specific screens; (4) Survivorship bias — screening only Nifty 500 misses small-cap winners; screen all NSE-listed if you want emerging stories; (5) Treating screen output as buy list — screens give you a 30-50 stock shortlist to research, not a buy list. Always read annual report and management commentary before buying.

Q: Can I create custom screens on Screener.in?

Yes — paid Screener.in plan unlocks custom queries using a simple syntax. Examples: (1) "Market Capitalization > 5000 AND Return on capital employed > 18 AND Debt to equity 25 AND Sales growth 3Years > 20 AND Promoter holding > 50" — promoter-confident high-growth stocks; (3) "Price to Earning 3 AND Pledged percentage = 0" — dividend-yielding value with no pledged shares. The query language uses field names exactly as shown on company pages. Run a custom screen, save with a label, and re-run monthly to catch new entrants. This is the single most powerful feature for serious fundamental investors.

Gajanand SharmaFounder & CEO, Simplegence · LinkedIn ↗Published 21 August 2026

From 5,000 Stocks to Your Next Investment

NSE and BSE combined list over 5,000 companies. Reading one annual report takes 4-6 hours. Even at 10 reports a week, covering the whole market would take a decade. Stock screening solves this — filter the entire universe by quantitative quality criteria, get a 30-100 stock shortlist, and only then begin qualitative research.

This article shows you how to use Screener.in — India's most popular fundamental screener — with 5 ready-to-use screens covering quality, value, GARP, dividend, and turnaround strategies.

Each screen below comes with exact filter criteria you can copy-paste into Screener.in and Indian example stocks the screen typically surfaces.

What is Screener.in?

Built by Ayush and Pratyush Mittal, Screener.in is the gold standard for Indian fundamental analysis. Free tier allows 10 saved screens. Paid tier (₹1,500/year) unlocks unlimited screens, custom queries, and Excel exports.

Key Capabilities

10-year historical financials for every NSE/BSE-listed company
Custom query language using plain field names
Pre-built popular screens (Magic Formula, Coffee Can, etc.)
Concise company pages — ratios, quarterly results, shareholding, announcements
Peer comparison auto-generated by sector

Free Tier vs Paid:

Free is enough to learn screening. Once you save 7-8 screens you actively use, the paid plan pays for itself in time saved — and Excel export makes building your watchlist tracking sheet trivial.

The 5 Ready-to-Use Screens

Screen 1 — Quality Compounders

Finds businesses with high return on capital, manageable debt, and consistent multi-year growth.

Return on capital employed 5Years > 18 AND
Debt to equity < 0.5 AND
Sales growth 5Years > 12 AND
Profit growth 5Years > 15 AND
Market Capitalization > 5000

Typical output: 30-50 stocks. Past surfacing examples — Asian Paints, Pidilite, Nestle India, Page Industries, Bajaj Finance (2015-2019), Polycab, Astral, Dixon Technologies.

Screen 2 — Deep Value

Finds out-of-favour or cyclical stocks at low valuations with reasonable balance sheet.

Price to Earning < 12 AND
Price to book value < 1.5 AND
Dividend yield > 2 AND
Debt to equity < 1 AND
Market Capitalization > 1000

Typical output: 20-40 stocks, heavily weighted toward PSU banks, commodity cyclicals, public sector enterprises, and select auto names. Historical surfacers — SBI 2014, Coal India 2020, Tata Motors 2020, PNB 2021.

Screen 3 — GARP (Growth at Reasonable Price)

Peter Lynch style — high growth at moderate valuations.

Price to Earning < 25 AND
Profit growth 3Years > 20 AND
Return on capital employed > 15 AND
Promoter holding > 40 AND
Market Capitalization > 2000

Typical output: 25-40 stocks. Historical surfacers — Polycab India 2020, Mankind Pharma 2024, KEI Industries, Tube Investments, Apar Industries.

Screen 4 — Dividend Aristocrats

Consistent high-yield dividend payers with steady payout.

Dividend yield > 2.5 AND
Dividend Payout Ratio > 25 AND
Debt to equity < 0.5 AND
Return on capital employed > 15 AND
Market Capitalization > 5000

Typical output: 15-30 stocks. Historical surfacers — ITC, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, Oracle Financial Services, Hindustan Zinc, Castrol India.

Screen 5 — Turnaround Signal

Beaten-down stocks showing fresh quarterly improvement.

Current Price < 0.7 * High price all time AND
Sales Growth Quarter Yo Y > 15 AND
Profit Growth Quarter Yo Y > 20 AND
Debt to equity < 1.5

Typical output: 10-30 stocks, very dynamic. Surfaces companies in early recovery — historical examples: Tata Motors Mar 2020, Mahindra & Mahindra 2021, IDFC First Bank 2022, IndusInd Bank 2023.

Caveat — Screens Are Starting Points:

A screen output is a research shortlist, not a buy list. Always read the latest annual report, last 4 quarterly concall transcripts, and check for pledged shares, auditor changes, and related-party transactions before buying any screened stock.

5 Common Screening Mistakes

Single-year filters — using only latest ROCE misses cyclical companies in down years. Always use 3-yr or 5-yr averages.
Cheap without quality — PE under 10 finds many junk stocks (Suzlon 2012-2018 type). Always combine valuation with quality filters.
Ignoring sector context — banks naturally have high debt/equity (8-12), so a generic debt screen excludes all banks. Build sector-specific screens.
Survivorship bias — screening only Nifty 500 misses small-cap winners. Screen all NSE-listed if you want emerging stories.
Confusing screen output with buy list — screens give you a shortlist to research. Always read management commentary before buying.

Building Your Own Custom Screen

Screener.in's query language uses plain field names exactly as shown on company pages. Examples:

Investing Goal	Custom Query
Promoter-confident mid-caps	Promoter holding > 60 AND Pledged percentage = 0 AND Market Cap > 2000
Free cash flow generators	Free Cash Flow > 0 for last 5 years AND Sales growth 5Years > 10
Net cash balance sheets	Debt < Cash AND Market Cap > 1000
Re-rating candidates	PE < Industry PE AND Profit growth 3Years > 25 AND ROCE > 18

Run a custom screen, save with a label (e.g., "My GARP Screen"), and re-run monthly to catch new entrants. This is where serious fundamental investors get edge.

Next Step — Spot Red Flags Before Buying

Once you have screened candidates, you must scan for fraud, governance, and accounting red flags before committing capital.

Read: Red Flags When Evaluating Stocks →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is stock screening?

Stock screening is the process of filtering thousands of listed stocks using quantitative criteria to narrow down to a manageable list for deeper research. India has 5,000+ listed companies — no investor can analyse them all. A screener applies filters (e.g., ROCE above 15%, debt-to-equity below 0.5) and returns only stocks meeting all conditions. Screening replaces emotion-driven discovery with systematic discovery.

What is Screener.in?

Screener.in is the most popular fundamental stock screener in India, built by Ayush and Pratyush Mittal. Free tier allows 10 saved screens. Paid tier (₹1,500/year) unlocks unlimited screens, custom queries, exports to Excel. Features: pre-built screens, 10 years of historical financials, custom query language, concise company pages. Gold standard for retail Indian fundamental research.

What screens work well for Indian stocks?

Five proven screens: (1) Quality compounders: ROCE >18%, D/E <0.5, sales/profit CAGR 5-yr >12%/15%; (2) Deep value: PE <12, P/B <1.5, dividend yield >2%; (3) GARP: PE <25, profit CAGR 3-yr >20%, ROCE >15%; (4) Dividend aristocrats: dividend yield >2.5%, consistent 10-yr payout, D/E <0.5; (5) Turnaround signal: price down 30%+, current sales growth >15%, ROCE recovering.

What are common screening mistakes?

Five mistakes: (1) Single-year filters miss cyclical companies; use 3-yr or 5-yr averages; (2) No quality filter alongside cheap valuation finds junk; combine with debt/equity and ROCE; (3) Ignoring sector context — banks naturally have high D/E so a generic filter excludes all banks; build sector-specific screens; (4) Survivorship bias — screening only Nifty 500 misses small-cap winners; (5) Treating screen output as buy list — always read annual report and concalls before buying.

How is screening different from charting/technical analysis?

Both filter stocks but use different inputs. Fundamental screening uses financial data — revenue, profit, ratios, balance sheet — to find businesses likely to compound over years. Technical screening uses price-volume data — moving averages, RSI, MACD, breakouts — to find stocks likely to move in short to medium term. Fundamental output: businesses to own for 5+ years. Technical output: trades exited in days to months. For wealth building, fundamental screening is more reliable for retail investors.

Can I create custom screens on Screener.in?

Yes — paid Screener.in unlocks custom queries using a simple syntax. Examples: "Market Cap >5000 AND ROCE >18 AND D/E <0.5" for quality mid+large caps; "Profit growth 3Years >25 AND Promoter holding >50" for promoter-confident growth; "PE <15 AND Dividend yield >3 AND Pledged percentage = 0" for dividend value. Run a custom screen, save with a label, re-run monthly to catch new entrants. The single most powerful feature for serious fundamental investors.

Stock Screening in India — Filtering 5,000 Stocks Down to 50

From 5,000 Stocks to Your Next Investment

What is Screener.in?

Key Capabilities

The 5 Ready-to-Use Screens

Screen 1 — Quality Compounders

Screen 2 — Deep Value

Screen 3 — GARP (Growth at Reasonable Price)

Screen 4 — Dividend Aristocrats

Screen 5 — Turnaround Signal

5 Common Screening Mistakes

Building Your Own Custom Screen

Next Step — Spot Red Flags Before Buying

Frequently Asked Questions

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