Dr. Vikas Bhardwaj

Dr Vikas Bhardwaj is a scholar of International Political Economy specialising in the Russian economy, economic sanctions, geoeconomics, and Eurasian studies. He holds a PhD in International Economics from the Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) — awarded December 2024 — where his doctoral dissertation undertook a rigorous empirical examination of the impact of Western sanctions on the Russian economy (2014–2021), a subject of acute and enduring global policy relevance. His academic formation further includes an M.Phil. in International Economics (81.5%, Distinction) from JNU, an M.A. in Economics, an MBA in Finance, and three separate postgraduate diplomas — in International Trade, International Business, and Entrepreneurship — from Annamalai University. 

Dr Bhardwaj brings over four years of government-sponsored policy research experience, including six third-party impact evaluation studies commissioned by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, executed at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA). He served as a research intern with the Ministry of External Affairs (WANA Division), producing policy briefs and analytical notes for senior MEA officials. A recipient of the ICSSR Doctoral Fellowship and UGC-NET qualified in Management, he has authored 56 publications — 5 peer-reviewed journal articles and 44 policy analyses — for leading international affairs platforms including Modern Diplomacy, the Atlas Institute for International Affairs, International Affairs Forum, International Policy Digest, GeoPrism, EurAsian Times, and India Narrative, on Russian geopolitics, sanctions economics, energy markets, and strategic affairs. He is positioned to contribute to leading Indian think tanks, government research institutions, university faculties, and international academic organisations. 

FELLOWSHIPS, SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS 

ICSSR Doctoral Fellowship — Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Sep 2022–Jul 2024. Prestigious national doctoral fellowship for research on Western sanctions and the Russian economy. 

UGC-NET — Management — National Testing Agency (NTA)/UGC, June 2021. National Eligibility Test qualifying for Assistant Professor and JRF. 

UGC Non-NET Doctoral Fellowship — Jawaharlal Nehru University/UGC, August 2017. Doctoral research support fellowship.