He received his Doctorate in applied physics (planetary and space science) in 1992 from the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi.

He was awarded a fellowship by the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs, Vienna, Austria, in 1996.

Bhardwaj wrote a chapter for Encyclopedia of the Solar System (2007; revised in 2014), edited 6 books, wrote invited reviews for international journals, including Reviews of Geophysics and has been guest editor of special issues of international journals.

He served as the president of Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) Planetary Science Section from 2006 to 2010.

Bhardwaj's research interests include theoretical and observational studies of planetary surfaces, atmospheres, ionospheres and their coupling with magnetospheric plasma and solar wind.