Google’s head of public policy for India has resigned just five months after taking the job, two sources told Reuters, at a potentially critical time for the US tech giant as it faces at least two antitrust cases in the country. Awaiting the result.
The reason for Archana Gulati’s resignation was not immediately known.
Gulati, who previously worked at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal think-tank, declined to comment. A Google spokesperson for Alphabet also declined to comment.
Google is facing several antitrust cases and strict tech sector regulations in India.
India’s competition watchdog is watching Google’s business conduct in the smart TV market, its Android operating system as well as its in-app payment system.
The watchdog is close to announcing its verdict in at least two antitrust cases against Google, people familiar with the process said.
At Google, Gulati led a team of public policy executives who looked at various regulatory implications for the company in India, one of its key growth markets.
She was a long-time Government of India employee, serving as a joint secretary for digital communications at NITI Aayog, Modi’s federal think tank, until March 2021, a body critical to government policy-making.
Prior to this, between 2014 and 2016, he worked as a senior officer in the Department of Mergers and Acquisitions of the Competition Commission of India, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Several 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.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
