Gita is the second Indian after former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan to hold the position.
Gita is the second Indian after former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan to hold the position.
India-born Harvard economist Gita Gopinath has been appointed as the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Gita Gopinath will be succeeding Maurice Obstfeld, who would retire at the end of 2018.
IMF is a leading international body working in the field of global finance and economy.
In a press statement released by the IMF chief Christian Lagarde said, "Gita is one of the world's outstanding economists, with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership, and extensive international experience".
HERE ARE 10 THINGS ABOUT GITA GOPINATH:
She was born in Calcutta (1971) and grew up in India. She is a US citizen and an Overseas Citizen of India.
Gita is the second Indian after former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan to hold the position.
Gita Gopinath is the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Economics at Harvard University.
She is the third woman and the second Indian after Nobel laureate Amartya Sen to be made a permanent member of the economics department at Harvard.
She is an Economic Adviser to the Chief Minister of Kerala state (India).
Gita is a co-director of the International Finance and Macroeconomics program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She is also a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. She is also a member of the economic advisory panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The 46-year-old was born to TV Gopinath, a farmer and entrepreneur, and VC Vijayalakshmi from Kannur.
She is married to Iqbal Dhaliwal, who is the executive director at Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Gita completed her Bachelor's in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi. She did her Masters in Economics from Delhi School of Economics (1992-94) and University of Washington (1994-96). She did her PhD in Economics from Princeton University (1996-2001).
She has authored around 40 research articles on exchange rates, trade and investment, international financial crises, monetary policy, debt, and emerging market crises.