Facebook India ropes in Rajiv Agarwal as Head of Public Policy

Rajiv Agarwal is a former IAS, he joins Facebook India ad the Director of Public Policy. Agarwal will manage policy development, data protection, privacy, and internet governance for the social media giant.

Facebook India today announced the appointment of Rajiv Aggarwal as the Director of Public Policy to define and lead important policy development initiatives for Facebook in India on an agenda that covers user safety, data protection & privacy, inclusion, and internet governance.

In this role, Aggarwal will report to Ajit Mohan, Vice President & Managing Director, Facebook India and will be a part of the India leadership team. Aggarwal comes with 26 years of experience as an Indian Administrative Officer (IAS), 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-ever 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.

He has been closely associated with the India-US bilateral trade forum, besides being India’s lead negotiator on IPRs with other nations. His last assignment was with Uber, where he was the Head of Public Policy for India and South Asia. 

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On the appointment, Ajit Mohan, Vice President & Managing Director, Facebook India, said “Facebook is an ally for the exciting economic and social transformation that India is witnessing, with digital playing a central role. We realize 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.”

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 charter and commitment to India.