After India's independence Dr. Mishra, who was studying Law to help Indian anti-colonial activists, decided not to become a practising lawyer.
[2] Dr Mishra worked as a Senior Economist on the team of the Techno-Economic Survey of Bihar undertaken by the NCAER.
In their books 'India: Social Structure' and 'Social Transformation in Modern India' by Indian Sociologists Dr. MN Srinivas and Dr. A Kumar respectively, Kumar quoted Prof. Mishra by stating, "In his book Hinduism and Economic growth,1962, Dr. Vikas Mishra has made a study of the occupational patterns of the different religious groups in India.
Dr Mishra's analysis points to the conclusion that minority religions are advantageously situated as far as occupational distribution is concerned.
Syrian Christians, for instance, show a more “advanced” pattern in Travancore than in North Kerala.
Mishra trained Raj Krishna, Agricultural economist, Member, Planning Commission, who has coined the popular term "Hindu rate of growth".'