Chopra received a DSc from Panjab University Lahore studying crustaceans and joined the Zoological Survey of India in 1923.
After independence he served as an advisor for fisheries development to the Government of India.
Chopra collected aquatic fauna on several expeditions, particularly to Meghalaya, the Shan States and the Indawggyi Lake in Upper Burma and described a number of species, particularly decapods.
During World War I, Chopra was involved in shifting the collections of the ZSI from Calcutta to Kaiser Castle belonging to Sir Jung Bahadur Rana in Benares.
Some damage was caused when the Varuna river flooded into the building.