About Us
Bridging the intellectual and strategic gap between India and Eurasia.
Who We Are
The India Eurasia Research Forum (IERF) is India’s first research network dedicated to a comprehensive study of the Eurasian region. Our team comprises early career researchers, journalists, policymakers and emerging voices from India’s leading public universities, including the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University of Delhi. Together, we endeavour to bridge the intellectual and strategic gap between India and Eurasia, a region comprising Russia, Greater Central Asia and the Caucasus. To bridge this gap, IERF operates at the intersection of scholarly rigour and diplomatic engagement. The forum will serve as a platform for advancing cooperation and trust across Eurasia while supporting India’s evolving global engagement by fostering cross-border cultural exchanges through an interdisciplinary approach.
What We Do
IERF aims to foster informed dialogue and multidimensional engagement between India and Eurasia. Currently, as part of our foundational mission, IERF’s work is based on four pillars:
Research
Conduct in-depth research on Eurasian geopolitics, economics, and culture to build research pathways between India and Eurasia. Promote and build a comprehensive repository of Indian perspectives on Eurasia.
Dialogue
Facilitate informed dialogue through publications, seminars, and conferences. Foster greater cultural understanding and civilisational dialogue between India and the Eurasian countries through the Volga to Ganga Dialogue series.
Engagement
Promote multidimensional engagement across India and Eurasia through academic collaboration and public diplomacy initiatives. To promote Track 2 dialogues between India and the Eurasian countries in the future.
Policy Impact
Provide up-to-date & policy-relevant insights to decision-makers and industry leaders. To shape the policy landscape of foreign policy-making in the region on Eurasian affairs, particularly in regional cooperation, resource geopolitics, economic developments, and civilisational discourse.
Our Vision
At the India Eurasia Research Forum (IERF), we believe that informed research and open dialogue are essential to building resilient partnerships and sustained engagement. The forum provides a platform for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from India and Eurasia to explore the deep historical, cultural, and strategic ties that connect these dynamic regions, ensuring that academic enquiry and research effectively inform public discourse and shape the policy landscape.
As part of IERF’s vision, we promote a homegrown Indian perspective on Eurasian affairs. Our long-term vision is to become a leading India-origin academic platform that promotes research and publications on all aspects of Eurasian political, economic, and socio-cultural developments, particularly those that can have implications for India.
IERF’s vision also extends to bringing India and Eurasia closer together — not just through analysis, publications and talks, but through shared stories and ideas that bridge gaps. We believe Eurasian studies need to be reimagined in Indian academic and policy-making circles, and IERF intends to fill this space.
Focus Areas
Why IERF
India’s role on the global stage is expanding rapidly, with a growing think-tank culture, particularly those dedicated to studying the various dimensions of India’s global engagements. While India’s global footprint grows, dedicated research on the vast Eurasian landmass — a region closely intertwined with India’s history and vital to its future — has often been overlooked.
At IERF, we recognise the need to overcome this inertia by building an effective research ecosystem that provides up-to-date analysis of the latest developments, policy-relevant insights and fosters cross-border knowledge exchanges between India and Eurasia. IERF remains open to engaging with people from walks of life interested in exploring the new frontiers of Eurasian studies. We follow an inclusive working style and adhere to the highest standards of academic enquiry.