Measuring Realised Savings: From Idea to Verified Benefit

A saving is never read off an instrument. It is the difference between what was spent and what would otherwise have been spent, and that second half is a counterfactual somebody has to fix, freeze and defend. This report sets out what a defensible baseline must contain, the four states a saving passes through before it can honestly be called realised, the double-counting and phantom-saving traps that make a savings register unreliable, what Indian audit evidence actually shows about how unspent money is handled, and who signs what under the General Financial Rules 2017 as updated to 31 January 2026.

Part of AECS Research Global's publications programme — drawing on ARG's work across cost management, EPC advisory and integrated project delivery. Download the full report below.