Facebook India head steps down a day after company cans Free Basics

Facebook’s India head Kirthiga Reddy stepped down from her post late on Friday evening to return to the US. She announced her departure in a Facebook post.

Facebook India head Kirthiga Reddy has stepped down from her post. (Picture Courtesy: Kirthiga Reddy’s Facebook)

Facebook India head Kirthiga Reddy stepped down from her post late on Friday evening to return to the US. She announced her departure in a Facebook post.

Reddy's decision came a day after Indian telecom regulator TRAI ruled against differential pricing which came as a blow to Facebook's Free Basics platform.  According to the ruling no company can charge subscribers different prices for access to different type of content.

Read | Facebook kills Free Basics in India after TRAI rules for net neutrality

(Facebook India chief, Kirthiga Reddy's Facebook post)

(Facebook India chief, Kirthiga Reddy's Facebook post)

Writing about Facebook's business in India, Reddy said, "I could not be more excited about where the Facebook business is in India, where we are going and what's to come. Over the last six years, starting as the first employee for Facebook in India, I have had the privilege to be part of our amazing growth journey -- from our operations in Hyderabad to being a business partner for our clients as they build their brands and grow their business in this mobile-first world. Above all, it's all been about our mission: "Give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." We have only just begun."

Reddy said that a search is on for her successor in India.

"What am I going to be doing? It will be business as-usual over the next 6-12 months. I am working closely with William Easton and Dan Neary as we search for my successor in India," wrote Reddy in her post.

Chennai-born Reddy, a Masters in business administration from Stanford University and a masters in computer engineering from Syracuse University, was appointed Facebook's director of online operations in India in 2010, where her primary mandate was to expand the social network's reach in terms of users, advertisers, and developers in what eventually became Facebook's fastest growing market after the US.

Reddy previously worked with the Phoenix Technologies software group in India and was also a director at Motorola.

A Facebook spokesperson directed HT to Reddy's Facebook post when asked for an official statement from the company.