Facebook India appoints former IAS officer Rajiv Aggarwal as Director of Public Policy

Facebook India has appointed former IAS officer Rajiv Aggarwal as its Director of Public Policy on Monday. Aggarwal's appointment to the position of director will help in defining and leading policy development initiatives for Facebook in India. 

As per a statement released by Facebook, the appointment for the position of director has been done under the view of covering a major agenda focusing on user safety, data protection, privacy, inclusion, and internet governance. Speaking on the same, Vice President and Managing Director of Facebook India, Ajit Mohan said that Facebook is an ally for the economic and social transformation in India and digital is playing a major role in it.

"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. I’m 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 recognize as our responsibility", he added.

Rajiv Aggarwal will directly report to Mohan and thus will be a part of the leadership team in India. 

Who is Rajiv Aggarwal?

Former Indian Administrative Officer (IAS) Rajiv Aggarwal has previously worked with Uber where he was the Head of Public Policy for India and South Asia. Furthermore, as an IAS officer, he has also worked for 26 years and later worked as a District Magistrate in several districts of Uttar Pradesh. Being an IAS officer, he initiated the country's first-ever national policy on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) as a Joint Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (M/o Commerce) and has also played a major role in the transformation of India's IP offices. 

Other than that, he was also associated with the bilateral trade forum between India and the US and was India's lead negotiator on IPRs with other countries. 

His appointment came after several major appointments in the recent months across marketing, partnerships, communications, and several others. He will now succeed the Former Head of Public Policy, Ankhi Das who quit in October 2020 due to controversies regarding enforcement of hate-speech rules against right-wing leaders of the country. 

With PTI inputs

Image: AP