Amit Bhandari

Amit Bhandari

Senior Fellow, Energy, Investment and Connectivity

Amit has nearly two decades of experience as a public policy researcher, an entrepreneur and a financial analyst. He is the author of "India and the Changing Geopolitics of Oil (Routlege, 2021), a book that looks at India's changing role in the global oil trade and how it can use this heft to secure energy supplies. He is also the lead author of the report "Chinese Investments in India" (Feb 2020), which looked at China's penetration of India's startup ecosystem. He is the founder of tezbid.com, a numismatic portal.
Amit started his career with the Economic Times, where he tracked the energy sector. He was a part of the start-up team of ET Now, the business news channel. Amit was responsible for setting up India Reality Research, a new research outfit within CLSA India, a stockbroking firm. He has also worked with Deccan Chronicle Group as the business editor for their general dailies.
He holds a Master in Business Administration from IIM- Ahmedabad and a Bachelors degree in Technology from IT-BHU.  Download high-res bio image
Expertise

Energy: Trade, Markets, Geopolitics & Technology; Investments; Connectivity, Infrastructure, OBOR, BRI

Last modified: January 17, 2018

Recent projects

Snapshot-Energy Map Courtesy: Gateway House
4 January 2018 Gateway House

India’s opportunity in high energy prices

India has benefited from three years of low petroleum prices. The tide is now turning, with oil moving from a benign $50 to $70 a barrel. This is a good time for it to start using financial instruments and asset purchases, as other countries do, to protect itself against further price rises
Gateway House's research map on Chinese investments in Pakistan. Researched by Amit Bhandari and Chandni Jindal. Courtesy: Gateway House
30 November 2017 Gateway House

Pakistan: A Reckless Mortgage

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a strategic play by China disguised as an economic corridor. It may bring some economic benefits to Pakistan in the short run, but will almost certainly cost the country – and India – a big political price in the long run
Bin_Salman__Reuters_ Courtesy:
9 November 2017 Gateway House

Saudi purge: Arab Spring 2.0?

The removal of 11 top ministers in the Riyadh government last week by the young crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, is a geopolitical upheaval, the implications are serious. Domestically, the kingdom is seeking to liberalise its conservative society and move away from oil-dependency – evident from the expected listing of its crown jewel Aramco. For India, which imports oil largely from West Asia, instability could cause a spike in prices, leaving less for its ambitious reforms. Globally, there is now space for new alignments – in the Great Power plays, in the Shia-Sunni rivalry, and in the war on terrorism.
RIAC cover Courtesy:
12 October 2017 Russian International Affairs Council

Russia-India Energy Cooperation: Trade, Joint Projects, and New Areas

In a policy brief for the Russian International Affairs Council, Vasily Shikin and Amit Bhandari examine the existing energy partnership between India-Russia, evaluate the potential of new collaboration formats, and develop specific recommendations for enhancing cooperation.

GH_GeoeconomicPushback Courtesy: Gateway House
10 August 2017 Gateway House

Geoeconomic pushback to China

The Indian government may block the acquisition of Gland Pharma by Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceuticals, a move that offers further confirmation of how China’s opaque business model is causing concern worldwide. This infographic shows some high-profile cases of acquisitions by Chinese companies that ran into local opposition