Reddy’s experience will come in handy at Google, which is scouting for partners in India to assemble its Google Pixel range of smartphones (HT_PRINT)

Google Appoints Sreenivasa Reddy as India Policy Head for Pixel Smartphone Initiative

Adriana MaraisJuly 4, 23 Google, Google Pixel, India

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., is planning to hire an experienced manufacturing and policy expert to lead its government affairs division in India. The aim is to address legal obstacles and enhance hardware assembly operations in the country.

Sreenivasa Reddy, currently a senior director of engineering at Microsoft Corp., is likely to join Google later this year, the people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. He previously held senior positions in Apple Inc.’s India regulatory team and managed government relations at the local unit of Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson AB, helping to boost domestic manufacturing for both companies.

Reddy’s experience will be useful for Google, which is looking for partners in India to assemble its Pixel smartphone lineup as it looks to diversify beyond China. Pixel production in India could lead to local manufacturing of other Google hardware products, such as speakers.

The director also helps Google cope with regulatory challenges. The Mountain View, California-based company is fighting antitrust charges in India, accused by authorities of abusing its dominant position in mobile operating systems.

Reddy and Google representatives in India did not respond to requests for comment. Google’s previous head of India policy, Archana Gulati, left the company last year.

Google is one of the global technology companies that consider India as their most important growth market. The company is adding local languages to its services and is looking for ways to make its Android smartphones cheaper and wants to gain more users in the world’s most populous country.

The company plans to open a global financial technology center in Gujarat International Finance Tech-City, more commonly known as GIFT City, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said during the Indian prime minister’s visit to the United States. month.