He was formerly Professor in the Centre for the Study of Social Systems,[1] Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
His current research interests include rural-urban transformation, labour laws in the informal sector, modernity, ethnicity, caste and stratification.
He is a regular columnist with The Times of India, The Hindu and occasionally in The Indian Express and Anandbazar Patrika in Bengali.
Between 1980 and 2009 Gupta was a professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for the Study of Social Systems.
Between 1990 and 2007 he was co-editor of Contributions to Indian Sociology He started and led KPMG's Business Ethics and Integrity Division, New Delhi; was a member of the National Security Advisory Board and the News Broadcasting Standards Authority.