Poonam Gupta (economist)

Poonam Gupta (born 1968) is an Indian economist who is serving as a Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India since 1 April 2025, becoming the first woman to hold the position in over a decade. She has been appointed for a three-year term. Known for her extensive expertise in international finance and economic policy, Gupta has previously held key roles in global financial institutions and domestic economic bodies.

Poonam Gupta
Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 April 2025
Appointed by	Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
Governor	Sanjay Malhotra
Preceded by	Michael Patra
Personal details
Born	Poonam Gupta 1968 (India)
Nationality	(Indian)
Alma mater	(B.A.) Hindu College, Delhi (M.A) Delhi School of Economics Delhi University (M.A) University of Maryland (PhD) University of Maryland
Occupation	Economist

Early life and education

Gupta holds a Ph.D. and a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Maryland, United States. She also earned a Master's degree in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics and her Bachelor's degree in Economics from Hindu College, Delhi of Delhi University where she secured second rank in university.^[1][2] In addition to her academic qualifications, she has taught at the Delhi School of Economics and the University of Maryland.^[3][4]

Career

Before her appointment at the RBI, Gupta served as the Director General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), India's largest economic policy think tank.^[5] She has nearly two decades of experience working with the World Bank, where she was a Lead Economist focusing on India, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where she contributed to various departments.^[4]

Her academic roles include serving as a professor at the Delhi School of Economics, Visiting Faculty at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), RBI Chair Professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), and professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).^[4][1][6]

Advisory roles

Gupta has also served in several prominent advisory capacities:

• Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.^[7]
• Convener of the Advisory Council to the 16th Finance Commission.
• Board member of NIPFP and Global Development Network (GDN).^[8]
• Member of the World Bank's advisory groups on Poverty & Equity and the World Development Report.^[8]
• Member of the Development Advisory Committee of NITI Aayog.^[8]
• Executive Committee Member of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry).
• Chair of the Task Force on Macroeconomics and Trade during India's G20 Presidency.^[9]

Research and publications

Gupta has published extensively on topics related to macroeconomics and emerging market economies. Her work has appeared in leading academic journals and has been featured in international media outlets such as The Economist, Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal.^[8][10][11]

Awards and recognition

In 1998, Gupta was awarded the EXIM Bank Award for her doctoral research in international economics.^[12]