A Power-Packed Pic From Gita Gopinath's Pre-Diwali Celebration

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath shared a picture from her pre-Diwali celebrations and instantly captured the Internet's attention for showing some of the world's most famous economists in one frame. The picture, shared yesterday on Twitter, shows Ms Gopinath, 49, with former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee. Also in the photo is the Global Executive Director of J-PAL and Gita Gopinath's husband, Iqbal Dhaliwal.  

"Fun pre-Diwali evening with Abhijit, Esther, Raghu and @iqbaldhali," Ms Gopinath wrote while sharing the picture.  

Fun pre-Diwali evening with Abhijit, Esther, Raghu and @iqbaldhali. pic.twitter.com/YxE5uyj85u

— Gita Gopinath (@GitaGopinath) October 26, 2021

The photo has racked up thousands of 'likes' and comments on the microblogging platform since being shared. Social media was soon abuzz as people began wondering about the collective brainpower in the room. 

Whoa! That's some serious firecracker brainpower in one room ????

— Mahua Acharya (@mahuaacharya) October 26, 2021

"Gita Gopinath just posted the economist's version of this photo," wrote one Twitter user, sharing a famous picture of scientists at the Solvay Conference of 1927. The picture, which features Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr among other prominent physicists of the time, has often been hailed as the 'the most intelligent picture' ever taken. 

@GitaGopinath just posted the economist's version of this photo. pic.twitter.com/YDDZwNEzCi

— Arvind Garg (@iamarvindgarg) October 26, 2021

Another hailed it as a "power packed" picture. 

Power packed picture

— Dr. Shashi Panja (@DrShashiPanja) October 26, 2021

"Probably the most intelligent square meter in the world right there," a user said. 

Probably the most intelligent square meter in the world right there.

— Sarah (@SarahMya2000) October 26, 2021

Wishes of Diwali in advance.
Happy to see great minds in one frame , which India is lagging ???? https://t.co/XStfBsaB7G

— RAJ (@RAJspeaks_IN) October 26, 2021

Some wondered what the dinner table conversation between the economists would be like 

i can only imagine the high level of discussion taking place at the dinning table.

— Saswat Prusty (@saswat_prusty) October 26, 2021

I mean what will be there subject of discussion. Totally intrigued to know ????

— Alamgir Laskar (@Alamgir110197) October 26, 2021

Gita Gopinath will leave her role as IMF's Chief Economist and return to the prestigious Harvard University in January next year. The 49-year-old prominent Indian-American economist had joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the Chief Economist in January 2019. Her husband, Iqbal Dhaliwal, is the Global Executive Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab - a global research center working to reduce poverty - which was founded in 2003 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Sendhil Mullainathan.