Bureau of Indian Standards

Pallavi Aiyar is an Indian journalist and author known for her reporting from various international locations and her published works. She has served as a correspondent for The Hindu in Indonesia and China, and for the Business Standard in Europe. Aiyar holds degrees in philosophy, modern history, and global media and communications from prominent institutions.

Her writing career began with journalism, and she later ventured into authorship. Aiyar has authored books covering her experiences in China, parenting, and novels. Her work also includes a guide book tailored for the Indian market and explorations of Europe's evolving landscape. She has received recognition for her reporting and has been acknowledged as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Pallavi Aiyar has established a significant career as an Indian journalist, with a notable focus on international affairs and reporting from diverse global locations. Her experience includes serving as the Indonesia correspondent for The Hindu and the China bureau chief for the same publication. She also held the position of Europe correspondent for the Business Standard. This extensive fieldwork has provided her with firsthand insights into different cultures and geopolitical landscapes, which often inform her subsequent literary endeavors.

Beyond her journalistic contributions, Aiyar is an accomplished author with a diverse bibliography. Her first book, "Smoke and Mirrors," published in 2008, chronicled her experiences in China and garnered the Vodafone-Crossword Readers Choice Award. She has since published a parenting memoir titled "Babies and Bylines" (2016) and a novel, "Chinese Whiskers" (2011). Aiyar also contributed as the lead author for an Indian-market edition of the "Lonely Planet: Discover China" guide. Her other works, such as "Punjabi Parmesan" and "New Old World," delve into her observations of Europe during periods of change and crisis.

Aiyar's academic foundation is robust, featuring a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi. She further pursued higher education at Oxford, earning a Master of Arts in modern history from St Edmund Hall, and later obtained a Master of Science in global media and communications from the London School of Economics. Her professional achievements have been recognized through accolades such as the Prem Bhatia Memorial Prize for Excellence in Reporting in 2007. Additionally, she was a fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2014.