WhatsApp India head, Meta India public policy chief resign; here’s why

“Amidst all of this, I just shared some news with our WhatsApp and India teams. It has been planned for a while, but given the events last week, we wanted to hold this back so we could focus on supporting those impacted last week,” he said. WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose has quit the company, making another high-profile exit from the tech industry in recent months. Besides, Meta India Public Policy Director Rajiv Aggarwal has also resigned from the social media platform. “There is so much more WhatsApp can do for India, and we’re excited to continue helping advance India’s digital transformation,” Cathcart said. WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose and Meta Platforms Inc’s public policy director in India Rajiv Aggarwal have resigned, Meta announced on Tuesday.

As per a report by TechCrunch, both of the two executives resigned on their own accord; it is unclear how and if their departures are connected to Mohan’s decision, but neither is connected to the 11,000 layoffs that Meta announced last week. Bose will leave the company towards the end of this week and he has revealed what he plans to do following this in a LinkedIn post. If you are preparing for Government Job Exams, then it is very important for you to read the Daily Current Affairs. All the important updates based on current affairs are included in this Daily Current Affairs 2022 article.

Abhijit Bose, WhatsApp’s head of India, and Rajiv Aggarwal, Director Public Policy, Meta India, have resigned from their positions. “This revolution is uniquely an Indian template because a lot of the common friction points that had blocked small businesses from achieving scale are being solved and powered by our India Stack and the ecosystem building on top of it,” he added. Bose added that WhatsApp’s pilot “to enable people to sign up for micro pensions from HDFC Pensions and their partner, pinBox” has gone live. During the peak of the second wave, they serviced over 2,000 requests per day for oxygen supplies, medicines and ambulances. Bose said, early in the pandemic, MyGov had launched a chatbot on WhatsApp to deliver information for citizens on vaccine efficacy, safety and COVID care guidelines. The development comes within a week of Meta announcing 11,000 lay-offs across the globe.

WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose, Meta India public policy director Rajiv Aggarwal resign

Businesses across sectors such as traditional arts and handicrafts, jewellery, fashion and apparel, food and beverage outlets and several others are being trained on using the various features of the WhatsApp Business App and are being guided on how they can market their product. Sandhya Devanathan will focus on bringing the organisation’s business and revenue priorities together and report to Dan Neary, vice president, Meta APAC and be a part of the APAC leadership team. Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, on Saturday told Meta-owned WhatsApp to immediately fix an incorrect map of India in its New Year celebration live-streaming link. Bose, who joins WhatsApp from Ezetap where he has served as co-founder and CEO will build WhatsApp’s first full country team outside of California and will be based in Gurgaon.

“We are also announcing the appointment of Shivnath Thukral as our Director, Public Policy for Meta in India. In his new role, Shivnath will define and lead important policy development initiatives across our apps – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – in India,” added Chopra. In India, being one of the company’s biggest markets, WhatsApp and Meta have come under heavy criticism over the years due to a number of controversies. These have included allegations of antitrust behavior, privacy mishandling, and enabling the spread of fake news that led to election manipulation. The legal system in the country is still processing some of the regulatory fallout from this.

“I want to thank Abhijit Bose for his tremendous contributions as our first Head of WhatsApp in India,” Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, said in a statement. They are live in seven regional languages on the WhatsApp-API platform and have over 500 volunteers handling data collection, engineering, product and communications. Bose said a group of volunteers from Bengaluru’s tech community who had never met each other, came together to create a service called ‘CovidAsha’ to help solve the acute oxygen supply situation that emerged during the second wave of the pandemic. “Now this helpline has been accessed by more than 20 million unique users. Till date 6.6 million vaccine certificates have been downloaded and 1.5 million vaccinations have been booked on WhatsApp,” he noted. When the government recently opened up the API for CoWIN, MyGov extended the service on WhatsApp to allow people to check availability of slots at vaccination centres near them, make vaccination appointments, and also download their vaccination certificate, he added.

We are also announcing the appointment of Shivnath Thukral as our Director, Public Policy for Meta in India. In his new role, Shivnath 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,” said Manish Chopra, Director, Partnerships, Meta India.

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November 1 that the app is on track to generate $1 billion in revenue in India by next year. The company said Aggarwal has decided to step down “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,” the note said. “Amid all of this, I just shared some news. It has been planned for a while, but given the events last week, we wanted to hold this back so we could focus on supporting those impacted last week,” he said. Meta appointed Sandhya Devanathan as its India head on Thursday, a week after WhatsApp India chief Abhijit Bose left the technology firm, closely followed by Facebook’s director of public policy Rajiv Aggarwal.

The approval comes as Meta seeks to use the Brazilian market as a key test space for business messaging, an area that has assumed greater urgency as Meta’s core advertising business has stalled. This comes within a week of Facebook parent Meta laying off more than 11,000 employees, which is 13 per cent of its total workforce, after a steep slide in digital ad revenue and profit. According to Wall Street Journal, in his latest meeting with senior executives, Zuckerberg is said to have confirmed “broad cuts” across the company. Employees who lose their jobs would be provided at least four months of salary as a severance.

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Devanathan’s appointment comes at a time when the Big Tech firm is undergoing major restructuring alongside mass layoffs. WhatsApp’s India chief Abhijit Bose and Meta India Director of Public Policy Rajiv Aggarwal have decided to step down from their positions, the company announced on Tuesday. Shivnath Thukral, the current public policy director of WhatsApp India has been appointed director of public policy for all platforms owned by Meta India — Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. WhatsApp India Head Abhijit Bose on Tuesday said its platform – WhatsApp-API – is helping deliver digital and mobile-first solutions across segments like financial solutions, government services and retail. Speaking at the Global FinTech Festival 2021, the top executive said WhatsApp – in convergence with telecom infrastructure and India Stack – is building a successful roadmap ahead for enabling and digitising businesses in the country on WhatsApp-API.

Newindianexpress.com reserves the right to take any or all comments down at any time. He announced that Thukral has been appointed as Director, Public Policy for Meta in India. Ending his note, Bose said, “WhatsApp has the potential and opportunity to change the World. I hope that we keep our ambition and aggressiveness for impact, outsized and beyond what others think is achievable!”. Bose added that after four years at WhatsApp, he has taken a call to move on from Meta to further pursue entrepreneurial ambitions after a break.

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whatsapp india head Business Platform is a solution for businesses to better manage discussions and queries of customers around the globe. Its UX helps enhance business communications, enabling seamless and impactful interactions in the way customers want to engage in today’s business ecosystem. India Post Payments Bank has collaborated with Bharti Airtel to launch banking services through WhatsApp. The IPPB WhatsApp Banking will allow easy banking services including doorstep service requests and Post Office location tracking for customers. IPPB and Airtel IQ will ensure multi-language support and real-time customer support agents on WhatsApp to provide quick solutions for customer queries.

“But now, even the smallest businesses can digitise their operations and deliver an experience to their customers that is seamless and at par with the best digital experiences in the world,” he stated. “One of the emerging sectors that we’re excited about is the growth on the WhatsApp platform of small and medium businesses in retail and F&B who would never have the ability to have an app on the customer’s phone. He cited examples from government agencies and financial institutions, wherein WhatsApp had been a platform to deliver essential services to citizens. Meta, Director for Partnerships in India Manish Chopra said that Aggarwal has decided to step down from his role at Meta to pursue another opportunity.

‘The exits are not linked to the layoffs at Meta’

“WhatsApp is deeply committed to India and we are excited to keep building products that help people connect and support India’s fast-growing digital economy. As a successful entrepreneur himself, Abhijit knows what it takes to build meaningful partnerships that can serve businesses across India,” said Matt Idema, Chief Operating Officer of WhatsApp. Shivnath Thukral, currently serving as the director of public policy at WhatsApp India, has been appointed the director of public policy for Meta India that includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. A former television journalist, Thukral has been part of the Public Policy team since 2017, of late focussing on WhatsApp. Manish Chopra, Director, Partnerships, India, said Thukral, in his new role, will lead policy development initiatives across Meta apps — Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — in India. Manish Chopra, director of partnerships at Meta, India, too, thanked Bose for his “proactive engagement with critical policy and regulatory stakeholders”, a role that Thukral will now perform.

​​A​ five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph asked the mobile messaging app to give advertisement in five newspapers to publicise its undertaking given to the government. “WhatsApp is special and can be a major partner for financial inclusion and economic growth in India. It’s not only how so many families stay in touch, but increasingly it’s how businesses are engaging with their customers. WhatsApp can positively impact the lives of hundreds of millions of Indians, allowing them to actively engage and benefit from the new digital economy.” said Bose.

• WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose and Meta Platforms Inc’s public policy director in India Rajiv Aggarwal have resigned, Meta announced on Tuesday.
• As per a report by TechCrunch, both of the two executives resigned on their own accord; it is unclear how and if their departures are connected to Mohan’s decision, but neither is connected to the 11,000 layoffs that Meta announced last week.
• WhatsApp, the world’s largest messaging service, plans to raise user awareness on its in-app payments service, will employ more marketing efforts to unlock its potential, WhatsApp Pay India head Manesh Mahatme says.
• WhatsApp Business Platform is a solution for businesses to better manage discussions and queries of customers around the globe.

“I want to thank Abhijit Bose for his tremendous contributions as our first head of WhatsApp in India. His entrepreneurial drive helped our team deliver new services. There is so much more WhatsApp can do for India and we’re excited to continue helping advance India’s digital transformation,” Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, said. WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose and Meta India’s director of public policy Rajiv Aggarwal have left the company, less than two weeks after the departure of Meta India’s country head Ajit Mohan. These developments come against the backdrop of Facebook’s parent company laying off 11,000 people worldwide on November 9. With over 400 million users, India is the largest market for the Meta-owned messaging app.

In this rapidly evolving Tech world, here is the Tech Weekender, which includes 7 stories covering the week’s 7 days to help you stay trendy. To recall, Meta had announced its biggest layoffs a few days ago, sacking around 11,000 jobs across the globe. Bose joined WhatsApp in February 2019 after serving as the co-founder and CEO of the payments platform Ezetap for more than 7 years . The exit of the top executives from the Organization has come when Facebook owner Meta announced the layoff of its 11,000 employees globally. I cover health, policy issues such as intermediary liability, data governance, internet shutdowns, and more. Full access to our intuitive epaper – clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.

Bose said that he will be joining the ‘entrepreneurial world’ after a small break. Thukral will be responsible for public policy matters of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in India. Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more. Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app. This comes in the backdrop of mass layoffs at Meta, under which the company plans to cut 11,000 jobs or 13% of its workforce. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberghad in September informed staff that Meta planned to reduce spending and reorganise teams.

This development comes close on the heels of Meta laying off 11,000 employees worldwide, or about 13 per cent of its workforce, as it battles faltering revenue and broader tech industry woes. Earlier in the month, Meta India head Ajit Mohan had resigned to join rival Snap as president, Asia-Pacific. However, he also stated that his exit from the company is not sudden and had been planned for a while. “It has been planned for a while, but given the events last week, we wanted to hold this back so we could focus on supporting those impacted last week.” The company has also developed a number of new use cases, such as an end-to-end shopping experience within WhatsApp via a partnership with RIL’s digital unit Jio Platforms, a QR ticketing service for Bengaluru Metro passengers, and the ability to book an Uber ride from the messaging app, among others.

As a result of the greater redundancies, the company will now have to figure out how to manage all of these problems as well as the day-to-day operations of running and extending the platform. According to TechCrunch, Bose joined WhatsApp in February 2019 after serving as the co-founder and CEO of the payments platform Ezetap for more than 7 years . Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who took accountability for letting go of 11,000 employees, said he is “sorry” for the actions in a post and acknowledged difficulties for employees on a visa and expressed support to them. India’s benchmark indices dropped 1% on Friday, wiping out the previous day’s gains, as lenders — led by HDFC group stocks — led the selloff. Continued worries about the health of the US regional banks, which dragged Wall Street down on Thursday night, also contributed to declines.

Zuckerberg’s announcement came six days after Meta India’s head, Ajit Mohan, resigned to join rival Snap Inc. as president of its Asia-Pacific business. Meta’s India staff, though, has not been impacted by the ongoing tech layoffs as much as microblogging platform Twitter. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle. The spate of resignations at the top CXO levels at Meta comes at a time when Meta globally laid off 11,000 employees worldwide as part of the great tech layoffs that have gripped the tech industry worldwide.

In India, being one of the company’s biggest markets, WhatsApp and Meta have come under heavy criticism over the years due to a number of controversies. “On the business side, the team delivered significant revenue and volume growth in our business, we launched Payments and also helped evolve our API-based business strategy with news use cases like JioMart. The combination of the Business API on the Cloud with Payments can transform the small business economy, and I hope that the early use cases that have been lit up in India, will continue to serve as a template for many sectors within India and across the globe,” Bose concluded. WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose and Meta India’s director of public policy Rajiv Aggarwal have left the company. Manesh Mahatme will focus on enhancing the WhatsApp Payments experience for users, scaling the service and work towards contributing to the messaging app’s vision of digital and financial inclusion in India. WhatsApp, the world’s largest messaging service, plans to raise user awareness on its in-app payments service, will employ more marketing efforts to unlock its potential, WhatsApp Pay India head Manesh Mahatme says.

His resignation is the fourth high-profile exit in about one-and-a-half months from Meta in India after its country head Ajit Mohan stepped down in November. WhatsApp announced on Wednesday that it has appointed Abhijit Bose as head of WhatsApp India. Bose, who joins WhatsApp from Ezetap where he has served as co-founder and CEO will build WhatsApp’s first full country team outside of California and will be based in Gurgaon, the company said in a statement.

The WhatsApp share button is the second product feature that the social media intermediary has launched quickly. The government will propose to allow transfer of data and its storage in “trusted geographies” in the revised draft of the data protection Bill, doing away with the data localisation requirement proposed in the earlier version, people privy to the matter told us. Taking to Twitter, co-founder and former MD of fintech unicorn BharatPe Ashneer Grover said that given the messaging app’s reach, Whatsapp Pay should have beaten Paytm, PhonePe and Google Pay by now.