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Abstract

India was an economic power to reckon with until its economic decline in the 18th century. What explains this long period of prosperity? The answer might lie in a framework of social and economic thought that lies buried in our ancient heritage, says Sriram Balasubramanian, of which Kautilya’s Arthashastra is a major example. Kautilyanomics for Modern Times seeks to do three things—first, to provide a structure and a context for Kautilya’s economic thoughts; second, to examine his work’s relevance today; and third, to do it in a way that a lay reader can follow and grasp easily. Kautilya’s thought is mainly articulated through the prism of dharmic capitalism and its components—some examples include his views on global economic outlook, state-market dynamics, and sustainable growth through observance of environmental, societal and familial responsibilities. Fathoming India’s rich economic and philosophical heritage and making use of it, Balasubramanian argues, would prove to be a great asset in India’s/the country’s/the nation’s ascent again.

About the Speaker

Prof. V. K. Malhotra

Professor V.K. Malhotra is, presently, Chairman, Food Commission of M.P. constituted under the National Food Security Act, 2013. Prior to his current position, he served as the Member Secretary, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) from 2016 to 2022. He is a Professor of Economics and has worked with the Department of Economics, C.C.S University, Meerut.

He has supervised theses/dissertations of eight Ph.D scholars and more than forty M.Phil scholars. His research interests include Governance and Economic Development, Corporate Governance and Performance of various industries, Intellectual Property Rights and India’s concerns, Foreign Trade and Investments etc. He has done UGC sponsored major research projects on ‘Governance and Development: A Study of Major States of India’ and his own Ph.D. work has been on ‘Economics of Fertiliser Subsidies’. He has a number of papers in reputed national/international journals in areas of his interest. He has to his credit a book entitled ‘Economics of Education’ which is prescribed by many universities. He is on the Board of Indian Council of World Affairs, and a Visitor’s nominee to the Court of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. He is also a Member of the Board of many renowned Social Science Research Institutes of the country and is also part of the Executive of many International Research Bodies/Associations.

Sriram Balasubramanian

Sriram Balasubramanian is a reputed Economist and Author whose key areas of interest include global macroeconomics, economic trends in emerging markets, new growth models, Indic/Dharmic culture & an innate passion for India’s socio-economic happenings. He has contributed Op-Eds and interviews to publications such as the Foreign Policy, Forbes India, Bloomberg, The Hindu, The Times of India, Swarajya among others. He has authored two books ‘Jamba-The Joint Family’ and ‘The Wizards’ (US version). The former was launched by Amish Tripathi, India’s Number 1 selling author and was shortlisted to be at the ‘Third Annual Literary Festival IAAC Festival’ by the Indo-American arts council. His third book is 'Kautilyanomics for modern times' which has sold thousands of copies in India and is a national bestseller. The book has had multiple re-prints and was the top book on economic history in Amazon India for 2022. He is an alumnus of University of Southern California and Columbia University.