NCAER appoints World Bank's economist Poonam Gupta as Director General

National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on Monday said it has appointed the World Bank's lead economist Poonam Gupta as its next Director-General.

Prior to joining the World Bank in 2013, Gupta was the Reserve Bank of India Chair Professor at NIPFP, and a Professor of Macroeconomics at ICRIER, the economic think-tank said in a release.

She has taught at the Delhi School of Economics, and the University of Maryland. She started her professional career as an economist at the International Monetary Fund, Washington DC.


Gupta, the first woman Director General of NCAER, will succeed Shekhar Shah who has led NCAER since 2011 and will complete his second five-year term in early May.

"We are delighted to have Poonam succeed Shekhar at the end of his successful tenure. NCAER has a unique heritage among India's intellectual landscape and she brings a set of unique experiences and perspectives that will accelerate, deepen and broaden our research agenda with impact and rigour," said Nandan Nilekani, President of NCAER.

Gupta holds a PhD in Applied Macroeconomics and International Economics from the University of Maryland and a Masters in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics. She will assume office on July 1, 2021.