New Delhi, April 2 -- India on Wednesday appointed former World Bank and International Monetary Fund economist Poonam Gupta as a Deputy Governor at the Reserve Bank of India. Gupta's appointment comes at a key time, when the RBI is in a cycle to loosen its monetary policy.

Poonam Gupta was appointed for a three-year term, an Indian official told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday, asking not to be identified in line with the government's rules, as per a report by Bloomberg.

With the appointment, Poonam Gupta has become the RBI's first woman deputy governor in over a decade.

A well-known economist and government adviser, Poonam Gupta worked for nearly two decades at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Poonam Gupta succ...