Google loses second India policy head in as many years

By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil

NEW DELHI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Google's head of public policy in India, Sreenivasa Reddy, has quit, a company spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday, marking the second departure in around two years in the critical role in a key market for the company.

Reddy, a former Microsoft MSFT.O and Apple AAPL.O executive in India, had joined Google in September 2023 to lead public policy initiatives during a period when the company was facing many antitrust cases and also expanding its offerings, from payment apps to YouTube.

Reddy "is no longer associated with the company," a Google spokesperson told Reuters, declining to elaborate on the reasons.

Reddy did not respond to repeated phone calls from Reuters.

Reddy had replaced Archana Gulati, a former Indian antitrust official, who resigned in 2022 just five months after joining.

Policy roles are vital for big technology companies in India, a market where Google and others share a fraught relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

The country is a key growth market for the Alphabet-owned GOOGL.O company since most smartphones in the country run on its Android operating system.

The company, which is currently expanding its AI offerings in India, has also tapped into the market to make its Pixel phones locally.