Ms Sruthylacshmi B Bhat is a Research Associate in the Indian and Regional Maritime Security cluster at the National Maritime Foundation. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations (South Asian Studies) from Pondicherry University and a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from CMS College, Kottayam. Her current research examines the multilateral constructs in the Indian Ocean Region, including IONS, IORA and BIMSTEC, their maritime goals, strategies and objectives in the Indo-Pacific and specific impacts of these upon India’s own maritime Indo-Pacific strategies.

Beyond her current role, Sruthylacshmi has amassed a diverse range of research and administrative experiences. She contributed as a General Assistant at the Consortium for Educational Communication, developing a SWAYAM MOOC course on “India’s Foreign Policy in a Globalised World”. Her keen interest in international affairs and regional studies led her to bag the best participant certificate in the Summer Camp on Latin American Politics, Literature, and Culture at the University of Kerala. Additionally, she worked as a Research Assistant for the book Discourses on Disability: Theory and Praxis, published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK.

Her academic engagements extend to presenting research on pressing global issues. She has delivered talks at esteemed platforms such as the International Peace Research Initiative (IPRI), National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), University of Calicut and University of Kerala.

Ms Sruthylacshmi’s scholarly contributions are well-documented through multiple publications, including co-compiling a reference book, Disability Studies: A Bibliography. Her research on “India’s Multilateral Diplomacy at the UN, G20, and BRICS” was featured in The Diplomatist, while her work on “Strategic Gateway: Mongolia’s Perplexing Challenges” was published in Electronic Journal of Social and Strategic Studies. She has also co-authored several other pieces on security, diplomacy, and strategic studies in esteemed journals, including a paper entitled “Population Explosion and its Unconventional Security Fallout: A Case Study of India” in Population Geography: A Journal of the Association of Population Geographers of India. Her upcoming works include a chapter on K M Panikkar in an edited volume on Maritime India.

She can be reached at irms2.nmf@gmail.com.

• Multilateral Constructs of the Indian Ocean Region- IORA, IONS and BIMSTEC

• MA (South Asian Studies), UMISARC, Pondicherry University, Puducherry.
• BA (English Language and Literature), CMS College, Kottayam, Kerala.
• Secondary Education- Kendriya Vidyalaya INS Dronacharya, Rameswaram, Mundamveli, Kochi.

• Research Intern at the National Maritime Foundation (August 2024 to February 2025)
• General Assistant at the Consortium For Educational Communication to develop a SWAYAM MOOC course on “India’s Foreign Policy in a Globalized World” (October 2023 to December 2023)
• Summer Camp 2023 on Latin American Politics, Literature and Culture, Centre for Latin American Studies, University of Kerala (May 2023).
• Research Assistant to the book, Discourses on Disability: Theory and Praxis by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK, under the author Dr Anju Sosan George, the Principal-in-charge of CMS College, Kottayam (May 2021 to April 2023)
• IQAC Administrative Staff, CMS College, Kottayam, Kerala (April 2021 to October 2021)

• “Ecuadorian Crisis in Governance” on a Panel Discussion on Climate Change and Contemporary Conflicts (Africa and Latin America), as part of the International Peace Research Initiative (IPRI)’s Third Annual Residential Workshop, Climate Change, SDGs and Contemporary Conflicts, organised by National Institute of Advanced Studies, Pondicherry University and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung on 6 December 2023.
• “The Soft Power Resonance: India’s Expanding Reach in Latin America” in the National Webinar on India in the Emerging Global Order organised by Society for Social Empowerment, New Delhi, Chaudhary Bansilal University, Bhiwani, Haryana and Department of Political Science, University of Calicut, Kerala on 14 October 2023.
• “Latin America’s BRICS Connection” at the Global Politics, Young Voices (GPYV) Discussion #111 organised by National Institute of Advanced Studies on 5 September 2023.
• “Geopolitical Crossroads: Contrasting India’s and China’s Approaches towards Latin America” at the Centre for Latin American Studies, University of Kerala on 25 May 2023.
• “SDG 10: Reducing Inequalities” for NIAS Young Scholars’ Workshop: “The Road to Peace through the SDGs” organised by the International Peace Research Initiative (IPRI), Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and National Institute of Advanced Studies on 8 June 2023.

• S I Humayun and Sruthylacshmi B Bhat. “Population Explosion and its Unconventional Security Fallout: A Case Study of India.” Population Geography: A Journal of the Association of Population Geographers of India, vol 46, no 2, December 2024. https://apgin.org/volume-46/.
• Sruthylacshmi B Bhat and Suraj Palavalsa. 2025. ‘India’s Multilateral Diplomacy: Key Engagements at the UN, G20, and BRICS in 2024.’ The Diplomatist. 15 January. https://diplomatist.com/2025/01/15/indias-multilateral-diplomacy-key-engagements-at-the-un-g20-and-brics-in-2024/.
• Suraj Palavalsa and Sruthylacshmi B Bhat. 2024. ‘The Future of Global Governance: Southeast Asia’s Integration with BRICS.’ The Diplomatist. 20 January. https://diplomatist.com/2024/07/20/the-future-of-global-governance-southeast-asias-integration-with-brics/.
• Sruthylacshmi B Bhat. “Strategic Gateway: Mongolia’s Perplexing Challenges.”Electronic Journal of Social and Strategic Studies, vol 5, no 1, Apr- Mar 2024. https://doi.org/10.47362/EJSSS.2024.5105.
• Santhosh Mathew and Sruthylacshmi B. Bhat. 2023. ‘Katchatheevu: A Burning Dot in the Indo-Sri Lankan Relation.’ South Asia Journal. November 16. https://southasiajournal.net/katchatheevu-a-burning-dot-in-the-indo-sri-lankan-relation/..
• Santhosh Mathew and Sruthylacshmi B. Bhat. 2023. ‘The Indo-Canadian Spat and the Vienna Convention: Wrangles and Reactions.’ South Asia Journal. October 23. https://southasiajournal.net/the-indo-canadian-spat-and-the-vienna-convention-wrangles-and-reactions/.
• Anju Sosan George, Archana Sukumaran and Sruthylacshmi B Bhat. 2022. Disability Studies: A Bibliography. Kindle Direct Publishing: India.