Dr. Niharika Tagotra is a Senior Program Research Specialist with the Energy program at WRI India, based in Delhi. She leads research and policy advisory on India’s clean energy transition, focusing on critical minerals, rare earths, energy trade and geopolitics, and emerging energy technologies, with an emphasis on supply chain resilience and national energy policy.

Before joining WRI India, she worked as a Policy Consultant on Energy Security at the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, contributing to the IEA–India Strategic Partnership and supporting the International Solar Alliance. She was also a Non-Resident Clean Edge Fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research and a researcher at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. Earlier, she worked on advanced nuclear reactor modelling at France’s CEA.

Niharika holds a PhD in International Politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she researched the geopolitics of energy security, and an M.Phil in International Politics, specialising in decision-making in India’s energy policy. She also holds an M.Tech in Nuclear Science and Technology from the University of Delhi, an MS in Nuclear Plant Design from the University of Paris-Sud XI, and a BSc (Honours) in Physics from Hindu College, University of Delhi.

Her interests lie at the intersection of science, geopolitics and public policy, particularly the role of emerging technologies in global energy transitions. She also enjoys reading, cooking and occasional trips to IKEA.