Dividend Policies in Modern Corporate Finance: Insights from The Indian Knowledge System with Focus on Arthashastra – A Cross Temporal Analysis

This paper focuses on exploring the conceptual framework of payout policies in modern corporate finance through the lens of ancient Indian economic insights, particularly the Kautilya’s Arthashastra. The paper studies the dynamics of corporate dividend policies, such as, wealth distribution, taxation, profitability, liquidity, investor expectations and economic governance and how the principles highlighted in classical text, Arthashastra provide valuable view for the contemporary dividend theory and practice. The paper also examines the similarities and applicability of the Kautilya’s classical text on corporate governance, stakeholder management and financial decision making in the present-day Indian businesses. The result implies that the Arthashastra’s principles can bridge ancient wisdom with current financial management challenges ensuring stakeholder considerations and long-term sustainability.