NISHKAMA KARMA AS A PROCESS-ORIENTED MANAGEMENT PARADIGM: AN INDIAN KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE THROUGH THE STRATEGIC EVOLUTION OF ZERODHA

The key tenets of contemporary management systems include quantifiable results, performance metrics, growth in valuation, and shareholder maximization. This results driven paradigm has substantially increased economic efficiency and worldwide competitiveness, but it has also resulted in short-termism, organizational fatigue, ethical degradation, and strategic distortions focused on valuation. As a result, alternative philosophical frameworks with roots in non-Western knowledge traditions are gaining momentum among scholars. Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), particularly the philosophy of Nishkama Karma as it is expressed in the Bhagavad Gita, offer a process-oriented ethical model that promotes disciplined behaviour without attachment to results.This paper theorizes Nishkama Karma as a viable management paradigm and empirically tests its practical manifestation using the case of Zerodha as the largest retail stock broker in India. The study has been conducted using a qualitative case study method supported by financial ratio analysis and conceptual mapping.The study reveals that Zerodhas financial literacy programs, technology-first approach, bootstrapped growth and transparency are in sync with the core values of Nishkama Karma. By means of financial research, it is shown that detachment from valuation fixation does not lower profitability but enhances long-term sustainability.The paper contributes to management theory by integrating IKS with contemporary strategic management, extends ethical leadership discourse beyond Western paradigms, and proposes a process-oriented leadership framework relevant for emerging markets and fintech ecosystems.