On behalf of The Boston Pledge, –  Devendar Singh in his welcoming remarks defined the holistic significance of the subject, – creating a spirit of seriousness and a sense of urgency with which all the participants engaged with the webinar. Raj Pratha and Santanu Sengupta summarized the critical points of the book, – essentially underscoring the significance of the book in context of how the fundamental tenets of economic discipline must shift, how the governance model of nations need to be reprogrammed, and how humanity’s relationship with nature need to be reset with higher level of emphasis on the spiritual vector.

Several distinguished thought leaders with wide range of experience in academia, industry and government offered their invaluable perspectives on the path-breaking ideas in the book:

Mr. Puran Dang (a distinguished Life Fellow of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur) while anchoring the programme emphasized the significance of the book from the perspective of the development of future leaders who could renew economic equations and business models the book proposes. He particularly emphasized that the book must become a textbook in universities & colleges in the Indian subcontinent and across the world. 

Dr. Sam Pitroda (Telcom Czar, Advisor to 3 PMs of India, former Chairman of Knowledge Commission) appreciated the freshness of the ideas that the book offers to enable socio-economic development that is bottom-up. He underscored the need for institutional systems to be more robust and transparent so that the innovative ideas the book offers on the core new economic rules around people & planet, could be implemented with long term commitment.

Sri Suresh Prabhu (Member of the Indian Parliament for multiple terms and have led multiple important ministries of the Government of India) made three important points that the book talks about – importance of “freedom of honest thinking and expression”, “social conscience and empathy” (the world must realize true meaning of prosperity each one of us must ensure that our neighbor does not sleep hungry) and human engineering.

Mr. R Gopalakrishnan (Gopal) (Author of 18 books, former Executive Director of Tata Sons, former member of Unilever Leadership team) agreed that while the wisdom of ancient philosophies should form the backbone of economic system of India, it needs to be marketed in modern context. As the book argues, he believes in India there is a need to focus more on software/systems and not just on hardware alone. He proposed five points that need to be considered to reset India’s software. He particularly emphasized the importance of fixing social equity to drive economic equity, and nurturing enterprises that are respected and loved, sustainable and honest. In tune with one of the basic themes of the book, he also emphasized the importance of biological model to deal with turbulence of change and to enable innovation. In the process, Gopal several times emphasized the significant role the Academy of Leadership at IIT Kharagpur must play to enable the transformational moves.

Dr. Lawrence Kauffman (Thought Leader and Business leader with an impressive track record across multiple industries) emphasized the importance of the book around several critical points to reset global economic system; he particularly highlighted the need for strategic approach in governance of nations at the macroeconomic level, and stressed the need to move away from conventional hierarchical model to more dynamic biological mode at micro economic level, to unlock the power of self-expression and human ingenuity. He believes not just India, but 180 countries could benefit from the powerful ideas the book offers. He also stressed that Academy of Leadership at IIT Kharagpur should commit to nurturing a more sustainable and equitable global economic system.

Dr. Partha S Ghosh (the author) thanked everyone for their reflections on the book in the context of the challenges in the Indian subcontinent and the world. He pointed out that through his work around the world he senses that there is an emerging consensus that governance of geo-political and geo-economic system need a fundamental shift; such a shift must reset how humanity engages with nature, how nations and individuals  engage with each other, and most importantly how we engage with our inner conscience. He indicated that perhaps because of the influence of Cartesian ways of thinking, discipline of economics rarely considers how different segments (with different cultural biases/norms, propensities to work, skill sets, work ethics etc.) of society could connect with and/or respond to macroeconomic policies, let alone realize that personal attitudes toward work, personal tendencies and preferences toward consumption are different, across population segments in different communities. Accordingly, he argues for Biological model, in contrast to the conventional Cartesian model. 

In that context he emphasized that India must switch from the current viscous cycle of lacklustre performance to virtuous cycle of enlightenment. He believes it is within the realm of possibility, if only the leadership of the nation engages with the foundational issues with, – a holistic perspective, a strategic mind-set, and human centric programs.

He particularly emphasized that for India to reset, the nation will need to think of nutrition with the highest level of seriousness along three dimensions – nutrition of the body, nutrition of the intellect, and nutrition of inner conscience. He cautioned India cannot linearly extend the past into the future; the nation will need to chart a new trajectory, a “new S-curve” of socioeconomic development with an enlightened purpose.

In addition, several important personalities shared brief but significant thoughts:

Dr. Anil Kakodkar (Chancellor, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Chairman, Rajiv Gandhi Science & Technology Commission, and Former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission) shared that the book has the ability to be the catalyst of change – which is urgently needed.

Professor Farrokh Mistree (Professor at the University of Oklahoma and alumnus of IIT Kharagpur) suggested that the Government, Industry & local Communities must collaborate to build a culture to deliver social equity. 

Professor Sam Liggero (Tufts Gordon Institute Professor, former Director of R & D at Polaroid) commented that India has great minds to shape the future of the world. He believes the book could encourage policy makers and business to create an environment for everyone to realize their full potential. 

Mr. Krishan Khanna (Chairman and Founder of iWatch) observed that the book should be a must read for problem solvers. He particularly emphasized that India should focus on building relevant skill-sets in people, essential to  implement the innovative and transformational ideas the book proposes.

Prof. Madhusudan Chakraborty (Former Director of IIT Bhubaneswar & former Director (Acting) of IIT Kharagpur) offered his thanks to all the speakers, participants, and the organizers for a very substantive and engaging discussion. He indicated the proposals in the book are relevant and timely, visionary and strategic, pragmatic and perennial. He asserted that thoughts Leaders in the discipline of Economics should take note of Partha Ghosh’s thoughts on ‘Cellularism’ and the significance of ‘Central Economic Nervous System’ of a national economy. He hoped that the book will be compulsory reading for the decision-makers of today and tomorrow, especially the IAS officers, corporate CEOs, aspiring leaders, members of the Academia and the University students who have specific roles to play in nation-building.