Google's head of public policy for India, named Dr Archana Gulati, who recently joined the tech giant around 5 months back (in May 2022) has reportedly resigned from her post. The reasons for her resignation are still unclear but sources have been blaming the recently surfaced antitrust cases on Google in India.
It is reported that two sources informed Reuters, at a potentially critical time for Google, as it awaits the outcome of at least two antitrust cases from India.
Dr Archana also associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's federal think-tank, declined to say anything in regards to her move. A spokesperson for Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) also declined to comment.
Google is facing a series of antitrust cases in India and stricter tech-sector regulations.
India's competition watchdog is looking into Google's business conduct in the smart TVs market, its Android operating system, as well as its in-app payments system.
The watchdog is close to announcing its decision in at least two antitrust cases against Google India, people familiar with the process said.
At Google India, Dr Archana led a team of public policy executives who look at various regulatory implications for the tech giant in the country, one of its key growth markets.
She was a long-time Indian government employee, having worked until March 2021 as a joint secretary for digital communications at Modi's federal think tank, Niti Aayog, a body that is critical to the government's policy-making process across sectors.
Before that, between 2014 and 2016, she worked as a senior official at the Competition Commission of India, in its Mergers & Acquisitions division, according to her LinkedIn profile.
A number of Indian government officials have been hired by Big Tech companies as they face tighter data and privacy regulation, as well as competition law scrutiny, under Modi's federal government.
Inputs from Reuters
