Dr Monica B. Sood’s new book ‘The Economic DNA of Bharat’ decodes India’s civilizational economic journey towards Viksit Bharat-2047
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, August 27, 2026: What makes India resilient enough to survive disruptions, rebuild and continually reinvent itself? Dr. Monica B. Sood’s new book, ‘The Economic DNA of Bharat’, explores this question by looking beyond conventional economic indicators to examine the civilisational, historical and psychological forces that have shaped Bharat’s economic character.
Published by Simon & Schuster India, the book examines Bharat’s economic journey through the interconnected lenses of civilisation, history, psychology, public policy and national development, with a focus on the vision of Viksit Bharat-2047.
Sharing details of the book with journalists during a media interaction in Chandigarh, Dr. Sood, an Ayurveda expert and entrepreneur, political commentator and thought leader, said the book comprises 10 chapters that connect Bharat’s civilisational past with its economic present and future.
“The central concept of ‘DNA’ is not merely a metaphor but the intellectual framework through which I have examined Bharat’s economic journey. Governments, technologies, currencies, markets and economic models may change, but the civilisational DNA of Bharat endures,” Dr. Sood said.
She identifies three defining impulses in this civilisational economic DNA: D — Dharma, N — Nirman and A — Atmanirbharta, representing values, nation-building and self-reliance.
According to Dr. Sood, the book argues that characteristics such as enterprise, knowledge, community, resilience, innovation, inclusion, ethical prosperity and strategic autonomy have repeatedly taken different forms throughout India’s history.
She said ancient Bharat demonstrated these economic instincts through systems of maritime trade and commerce, agriculture, medicine, knowledge, governance and community networks. In contemporary India, she said, the same impulses can be seen in digital public infrastructure, entrepreneurship, indigenous manufacturing, technological innovation, financial inclusion, defence capabilities, start-ups and strategic autonomy.
Beyond GDP and Growth Numbers
A central argument of the book is that an economy cannot be understood solely through GDP, fiscal deficits, budgets or growth rates. Dr. Sood explores the idea of economics as national psychology, arguing that economic outcomes are also shaped by what societies value, how they save and spend, what they build and share, and how they define prosperity.
The book consequently attempts to position Bharat not merely as an economic system but as a “civilisational economic personality”, offering a framework for understanding the country’s transformation towards 2047.
The book features a foreword by Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of Law and Justice, and carries messages and endorsements from public figures including Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Punjab; Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, Union Minister of Panchayati Raj, Dairying and Animal Husbandry; and Jatinder Pal Malhotra, among others.
For Dr. Sood, the inquiry also has a personal dimension. She said her interest in economics, society and national development was influenced by her late father, Paramjit Kumar, whose ideas and writings encouraged her to look beyond immediate economic events and examine the deeper forces shaping nations and societies.
She said his intellectual legacy, including his ideas of Fiscal Quantum and Integral Capitalism, became an important strand in her own exploration of Bharat’s economic character.
“GDP can tell us how fast Bharat is growing. Economic DNA attempts to understand why Bharat keeps finding a way to rise,” Dr. Sood said.