Performance-based Budgeting A Review of Experience and Lessons

This article is a review of efforts to introduce performance-based budgeting in India. It attempts to discuss the context in which these new methods of budgeting have emerged and assess, with the help of published literature, their utility and impact. First, it deals With the global context in which the increasing concern with governmental efficiency has emerged. Second, it looks at the experiences of developed countries in the use of performance budgeting and results-based management (RBM). Third, it looks at the specific experience of India in the use of two major performance-based budgeting tools: 'performance budget' and 'outcome budget'. Fourth, in the light of the evidence, the article suggests a sharp turn away from certain prevalent orthodoxies in public expenditure management towards adopting practises that help deepen democracy and transparency.