On Monday, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said it has appointed the World Bank's lead economist Poonam Gupta as its next Director-General.
Proceeding to join the World Bank in 2013, Poonam was the Reserve Bank of India Chair Professor at NIPFP and a Professor of Macroeconomics at ICRIER.

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

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

Nandan Nilekani, President of NCAER, states, “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 rigor.”

Poonam holds a Ph.D. in Applied Macroeconomics and International Economics from the University of Maryland and a Masters in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics. She will shoulder office on July 1, 2021.