Poonam Gupta appointed RBI deputy governor ahead of MPC meeting

New Delhi: The central government has appointed Poonam Gupta, who is a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, as a new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), just a few days ahead of the central bank’s monetary policy committee meeting.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, which consists of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, has approved Gupta’s appointment at the central bank for three years.

In her new role Gupta is likely to lead the monetary policy department of the RBI. The deputy governor in charge of the monetary policy also serves as a member of the rate-setting panel monetary policy committee (MPC).

At present, Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao holds the monetary policy portfolio as an additional charge. Rao has held this charge since January after it fell vacant due to the retirement of Michael D Patra.

The RBI’s monetary policy committee is scheduled to meet during April 7-9 to decide on the policy interest rates. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra is scheduled to announce the MPC’s decision on April 9.

Gupta is currently serving as director general of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). She is the first woman to head the New Delhi-based think tank.