One of the most influential India-origin economists ever, Gita Gopinath, is to be relieved of her duties as IMF First Deputy Managing Director in August 2025. That would deprive the giant voice of global policymaking concerning emerging economies, including India.
Born in Kolkata in 1971, Gopinath did her economics education from Delhi University and Delhi School of Economics while also completing a Master’s from the University of Washington and gaining her PhD from Princeton University. Her teaching career included professorship at both the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Harvard University, where she was from 2005 to 2022.
She joined the IMF as Chief Economist in 2019 and, by 2022, was promoted to First Deputy Managing Director. While office, she worked alongside others on the IMF’s much-lauded ‘Pandemic Plan’, which laid out the global road map for recovery from COVID-19 and vaccine allocation.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva appraised her as an “exceptional intellectual leader” and “a fabulous manager” and noted her contribution to global economic thinking.
Why Her Exit Matters for India
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The presence of Gita Gopinath at the IMF was emblematic of India’s growing intellectual clout in the international financial institutions. Her chairmanship brought into sharper focus the needs of developing countries like India in the discussions at the IMF. Her observations very often followed the line of thinking of India’s economic interests about inflation control, fiscal policy, and recovery from the pandemic.
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With her resignation, India loses a truly strong voice in the international community, problems of which it is keenly aware and which it champions for more balanced and inclusive growth worldwide.
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Her exit may well change the politics within the IMF and thus affect how Indian economic narratives are promulgated abroad.
Disclaimer- This article is based on publicly available information. Developments are subject to change. Readers should refer to official IMF announcements for the latest updates and confirmations.
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