Facebook India appoints former IAS officer Rajiv Aggarwal as public policy director

Facebook India has appointed former IAS officer Rajiv Aggarwal as the Director of Public Policy. He succeeds Ankhi Das, who quit the company in October last year. She was embroiled in a controversy for opposing the enforcement of hate-speech rules against right-wing leaders in the country.
 
In his new role, Aggarwal will define and lead important policy development initiatives for Facebook in India on an agenda that covers user safety, data protection and privacy, inclusion and internet governance, the company said in a statement.
 
He will report to Facebook India Vice President and Managing Director Ajit Mohan and will be a part of the India leadership team, it said.
 
Aggarwal has over 26 years of experience as an Indian Administrative Officer (IAS) and worked as a District Magistrate in nine districts across Uttar Pradesh.
 
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During his tenure as an administrative officer, he steered India's first ever national policy on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) as Joint Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and was instrumental in the digital transformation of India's IP offices, the statement said.
 
Aggarwal's last assignment was with Uber, where he was the Head of Public Policy for India and South Asia.
 
Welcoming Aggarwal, Ajit Mohan in a LinkedIn post said that Facebook is committed to being an ally for India's exciting economic and social transformation and looks forward to leveraging Aggarwal's experience of working across sectors and dealing with issues at the frontiers of economic development in the country.
 

 
Aggarwal's appointment comes after a series of senior and leadership recruitments in recent months across marketing, partnerships, communications, and other key verticals demonstrating the company's expanding commitment to India.
 
(With PTI inputs)

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