Facebook India has announced the appointment of former IAS officer Rajiv Aggarwal as the director of public policy. This initiative has been taken to define and lead policy development initiatives for Facebook in India.

Rajiv’s role focuses on user safety, data protection and privacy, inclusion and internet governance. He would report to Ajit Mohan, vice president and managing director, Facebook India, and would be a part of the India leadership team.

Rajiv joins Facebook from Uber, where he served as the head of public policy for India and South Asia. He brings in 26 years of experience as an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), working from grassroots to 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.

Ajit Mohan says, “Facebook is an ally for the exciting economic and social transformation that India is witnessing, with digital playing a central role. 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.”

Aggarwal’s appointment comes after a series of senior and leadership recruitments in recent months at Facebook, across marketing, partnerships, communications, and other key verticals.