By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil

NEW DELHI (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 and Apple 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.

In an internal memo, Google said that Iarla Flynn, policy head for northern Europe, will serve as the interim policy lead for India.

"India is a crucial market for Google, and we are deeply committed to its success," the memo said, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.

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 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.