Fixing liquidity conundrum to be dy Guv's focus

The government has appointed Poonam Gupta as the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

- MANOJIT SAHA

She is likely to get the all-important monetary policy department among others. She may have to find a way to improve monetary transmission at a time the central bank has started the interest rate cutting cycle. Her appointment comes less than a week before a meeting of the monetary policy committee (MPC).

Gupta is presently the director general of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), the first woman to head the New Delhi think tank. She is also a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and the convener of the Advisory Council of the 16th Finance Commission. She may have to relinquish both these roles before assuming charge as deputy governor.

The six-member MPC—Gupta will be part of it as deputy governor in charge of monetary policy—reduced the policy repo rate in its last review meeting in February. The rate cut was the first by the central bank in almost five years. The rate-setting panel, which will meet April 7 to 9 for the first review of FY26, is widely expected to deliver another rate cut.

Gupta has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland, USA, and a Master's in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University.