The parents of the newly appointed International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath, who has a Mysuru connection, had received the news of their daughter’s elevation a few weeks ago but it was kept under wraps pending an official announcement.
“We learnt of her elevation middle of last month when she received a call about being selected as Chief Economist of IMF. We were delighted,” said T.V. Gopinath, Ms. Gita’s father.
Speaking over phone from Jaipur, where he is attending a farmers’ meeting, Mr. Gopinath, an entrepreneur and one of the Directors of Raitha Mitra, a company floated by farmers, said Ms. Gita was a studious and hard-working girl.
“She studied at Nirmala Convent and Mahajana College in Mysuru and opted for science in PU. I wanted an IAS officer in the family and hence suggested Gita to go to Delhi. She then got admission at Lady Shri Ram College for BA (Hon.),” recalled Mr. Gopinath.
She topped the subject in the university and went on to complete her Master’s in economics from Delhi School of Economics. “She studied at the University of Washington where her professors spoke very highly of her,” said Mr. Gopinath.
Ms. Gita is married to Iqbal Dhaliwal who heads the Ahdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Laboratory, MIT. She visits Mysuru almost every year, said Mr. Gopinath. Her mother Vijayalakshmi runs a playhome in the city.
