Zero base budgeting: A survey of practices in India

Zero Base Budgeting, as an innovative management control technique, is rising to prominence in India. Many enterprises are in the process of implementing it in order to enhance the financial productivity of their scarce resources and to eliminate wasteful expenditure. The present study is a survey of the current and potential users of ZBB and analyses their perceptions of the various facets of ZBB. The study found that management-oriented factors have to be taken into account by Indian enterprises in the design and effective implementation of ZBB. The author suggests that the ZBB process should be computerised for minimisation of the problems arising in its implementation. Specific strategies also need to be evolved to handle manpower problems arising in the process of implementing ZBB. A non-quantitative ZBB model is also suggested for Indian conditions.