Samsung India’s public affairs and ESG chief is serving his final week at the company
Samsung India’s head of public affairs and ESG, Rajiv Aggarwal, has resigned from the company after nearly four years in the role, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with his departure.
Aggarwal is serving his final week at Samsung India, the report said. The reason for his resignation was not immediately clear.
The 57-year-old former bureaucrat was responsible for Samsung’s engagement with the Indian government, including public policy and ESG matters. He joined Samsung in late 2022 after holding senior public policy roles at Meta and Uber.
Aggarwal’s departure comes as Samsung and other global technology companies face an evolving regulatory environment in India, with issues ranging from smartphone rules and data privacy to electronic waste and manufacturing.
Samsung and Apple have recently faced demands from the Indian government to pre-install state-run applications on smartphones. The companies have opposed the move on privacy grounds, according to Reuters.
Samsung is also among companies that have challenged in court an Indian government policy that increases the payments businesses have to make to electronic-waste recyclers.
The policy has emerged as an important issue for electronics manufacturers as India seeks to expand formal e-waste recycling and strengthen its broader electronics manufacturing ecosystem.
More from TechAggarwal’s role placed him at the centre of Samsung’s engagement with policymakers at a time when the Indian government has been pushing global electronics companies to increase local manufacturing and investment.
Samsung has expanded its manufacturing and research presence in India in recent years, making the country an increasingly important market and production base for the South Korean company.
The company currently has a 16.2 per cent share of India’s smartphone market, level with Oppo and behind market leader Vivo, according to Reuters. Samsung was India’s largest smartphone player in 2023.
Aggarwal’s career
Before joining Samsung, Aggarwal worked at Meta and Uber on public policy. He also spent several years in government as an Indian Administrative Service officer.
The Public Affairs Forum of India describes Aggarwal as a former IAS officer who worked in various administrative roles before moving to the corporate sector.
Samsung identified Aggarwal as senior vice president for public affairs and ESG at Samsung Southwest Asia in a company announcement in 2025.
His resignation follows earlier changes in Samsung India’s public policy team. In April 2023, three public policy executives at the company resigned within a week, Reuters had reported at the time.
Samsung has not announced who will succeed Aggarwal in the role.
