Gita Gopinath is new IMF chief economist

India-born economist Gita Gopinath was on Monday appointed as chief economist of International Monetary Fund. That makes her the second Indian after former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan to hold the position.

She will succeed Maurice Obstfeld, who would retire at the end of 2018.

She currently serves as the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University.

"Gopinath is one of the world's outstanding economists, with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership, and extensive international experience," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.

Gopinath did her PhD in economics from Princeton University in 2001 after earning a BA from the University of Delhi and MA degrees from both the Delhi School of Economics and University of Washington.

She was born in Kolkata in 1971 and is married to Iqbal Singh Dhaliwal, the executive director at Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Gita has also served as a member of the Eminent Persons Advisory Group on G-20 Matters for India's Ministry of Finance. In 2017 she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Washington. In 2014, she was named one of the top 25 economists under 45 by the IMF and she was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011.

Her father, T V Gopinath, is a farmer and mother is a homemaker. Both hail from Kannur district in Kerala. At the World Economic Forum meet in January, Lagarde told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he did not mention the women of India enough in his speech to the summit, adding "it's not just a question of talking about them". In April, she reiterated that PM Modi should pay more attention to women in the country.