New Delhi, Apr 5 (IANS): National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Indias largest and oldest economic think-tank, has announced the appointment of Poonam Gupta as its new Director-General.

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

Nandan Nilekani, President of NCAER, said, "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."

Poonam Gupta is currently working as a lead economist with the World Bank. Prior to joining the World Bank in 2013, she was the RBI chair professor at NIPFP, and a professor of macroeconomics at ICRIER.

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

In a career spanning more than two decades, Gupta has published extensively in leading scholarly and policy journals and is counted among the top researchers working on India.

Her areas of expertise and research interest include issues related to growth and developmental challenges in developing economies, fiscal outcomes, financial sector, monetary policy, capital flows and global developments. Besides India, she has rich experience working on issues relevant to other emerging markets, including China.

Gupta holds a PhD in applied macroeconomics and international economics from the University of Maryland, a Masters in economics from the Delhi School of Economics, and a Bachelor's degree in economics from Hindu College, Delhi University.

She will assume office on July 1, 2021.