Dr. Nirupama Kulkarni is Additional Director (Reseach) at CAFRAL. She is an applied empirical economist and her research interests include corporate finance, banking, household finance, real estate and monetary policy. Her recent work focuses on the role of government policies in the financial and housing market and its implications. Her research looks at how government regulation can stack the odds against private market competition and the implications of government policies aimed at increasing homeownership.

Nirupama has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from IIT Bombay, an MBA from Stern School of Business, New York University and a Ph.D. in business administration (finance and real estate) from Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. She has been the recipient of the Fisher Center Fellowship at UC Berkeley, Fisher Center Research Grant at UC Berkeley, Vanier Family Foundation Grant at UC Berkeley and was the FWA Clarin S. Schwartz Memorial Scholar and a Glucksman Research Fellow at the Stern School of Business, New York University.

Dr. Gautham Udupa is a Senior Research Director at CAFRAL. His research interests include issues related to open economy macro, international trade, and cross-border spillovers. Gautham uses empirical and applied theoretical techniques. His recent paper focuses on the relative importance of multinational firms in generating cross-border spillovers relative to international trade channels. In another working paper, he is evaluating if the presence of frictions to borrowing and savings on households worsens inequality due to lowering of trade barriers.

Gautham completed his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Houston.

C. Sankaranarayanan is the Senior Program Director currently associated with the CAFRAL’s Learning activities. Prior to joining CAFRAL he worked in State Bank for India for more than 35 years and has held a number of very important assignments in the Bank in India and abroad.He had worked as a faculty in State Bank Staff College, Hyderabad, SVP & Regional Head-SBICAPs Chennai, Country Head & CEO-SBI Maldives, CEO SBI Newyork, Director (FDI), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, GOI, New Delhi and General Manager, Circle Audit Office, Chennai. He is a Post Graduate in Economics and a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers.                                            

Sunita joined the Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL), Mumbai as Senior Administrative Officer in November, 2021. She superannuated as General Manager from Reserve Bank of India, in January, 2021. She has more than 32 years of experience in working in various departments of the Reserve Bank including DEIO, DGBA, and FED.

She has been previously associated with CAFRAL between 2011-14, while on deputation from RBI as DGM/GM. She was responsible for the overall administration and also worked as a Program Director. Prior to that she was closely associated with core team that setup BCSBI and formulated the Code of Banks Commitment to Customers and Code of Bank’s Commitment to Micro and Small Enterprises. She is MA in English Literature and BSc in Science from University of Rajasthan.