LONDON, (Reuters) – Swati Dhingra will be joining the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, the Bank of England, in August, after Michael Saunders’ term ends. This was announced by Britain’s finance ministry on Thursday.

Dhingra will sit for a 3-year term on MPC (which sets interest rates). She is an academic focused on applied microeconomics and international economics.

She stated that the work of the Committee was of vital importance because the UK is facing an extraordinary cost of living crisis, in addition to the global problems of the war and pandemics.

Dhingra received her bachelor’s degree from University of Delhi.

She brings the total number of female MPC members to three and is the first Asian woman appointed to this role.

Rishi Sunak, finance minister, stated that Dr Swati Dhingra’s international experience will be a valuable addition to the MPC.

Andrew Bailey, BoE Governor, also appreciated her research and appointment.