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Tag: Head of Public Policy

  • Whatsapp India’s Abhijit Bose and Meta India’s Rajiv Aggarwal step down

    Whatsapp India’s Abhijit Bose and Meta India’s Rajiv Aggarwal step down

    Mumbai: As part of the workforce churn that Meta is undergoing, Whatsapp India head Abhijit Bose and Meta India’s head of public policy Rajiv Aggarwal have called it a day. Noticeably, this piece of news comes close on the heels of the social media conglomerate dismissing 11,000 employees and also the move of Meta India chief Ajit Mohan to Snap.

    Furthermore, WhatsApp India’s director of public policy, Shivnath Thukral, has been appointed director of public policy for Meta India, which includes Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

    As per media reports, Meta India director of partnerships Manish Chopra said in a statement, “Thukral has been an integral part of our public policy team since 2017. In his new role, Thukral will define and lead important policy development initiatives across our apps – Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – in India. We remain committed to our users in India and will continue to contribute meaningfully to the regulatory process that will enable everyone to harness the full potential of India’s digital economy.” 

    Bose took up his role at WhatsApp India in 2019. Aggarwal joined Meta India in September 2021; prior to that, he was head of public policy for Uber in India & South Asia.

    Bose announced his exit on LinkedIn, “It has been a tough week for all of our team at WhatsApp as we had to say goodbye to many amazing teammates last week. Amidst all of this, I just shared some news with our WhatsApp and India teams. It has been planned for a while.”

     “After four amazing years at WhatsApp, I have taken the call to move on from Meta. After a small break, I plan to rejoin the entrepreneurial world,” he goes on.

    Whatsapp head Will Cathcart said in a statement, as per the media, “I want to thank Bose for his tremendous contributions as our first Head of WhatsApp in India. His entrepreneurial drive helped our team deliver new services that have benefited millions of people and businesses. There is so much more WhatsApp can do for India and we’re excited to continue helping advance India’s digital transformation.”

    “Aggarwal has decided to step down from his role at Meta to pursue another opportunity. Over the last year, he has played an important role in leading our policy-led initiatives in areas such as user safety, privacy, and scaling up programmes like Goal to drive digital inclusion in the country. He has also been leading proactive engagement with critical policy and regulatory stakeholders. We are grateful for his contributions and wish him the very best for the future,” said Chopra.

  • Facebook India onboards Rajiv Aggarwal as director of public policy

    Facebook India onboards Rajiv Aggarwal as director of public policy

    Mumbai: Facebook India on Monday announced the appointment of Rajiv Aggarwal, a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, as director of public policy. He succeeds Ankhi Das, who quit in October last year.

    In this role, Aggarwal will lead policy development initiatives for the company that covers user safety, data protection & privacy, inclusion, and internet governance, Facebook said in a statement.

    He will report to Facebook India VP and MD Ajit Mohan and will be part of the India leadership team, it added.

    “We realise we are deeply immersed in the fabric of India and we have the opportunity to help build a more inclusive and safe internet that benefits everyone in the country,” Mohan said in a statement. “I am thrilled that Rajiv is joining us to lead the public policy team. With his expertise and experience, Rajiv will help further our mission to build transparency, accountability, empowered and safe communities, all of which we recognise as our responsibility,” he added.

    Aggarwal joins the social media giant from Uber where he was serving as the head of public policy for India and South Asia markets for nearly two years.

    He comes with over 26 years of experience as an IAS officer, working from grassroots to the global level, including as a district magistrate in nine districts across the state of Uttar Pradesh. 

    During his tenure as an administrative officer, he steered India’s first national policy on intellectual property rights (IPRs) as joint secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (m/o commerce) and was instrumental in the digital transformation of India’s IP offices, said the statement.

    He has been closely associated with the India-US bilateral trade forum, besides being the country’s lead negotiator on IPRs with other nations, it added.