New Delhi, June 11 -- Meta India public policy head Shivnath Thukral is stepping down from his role at the end of this month.
Thukral joined Meta (formerly Facebook) in 2017, and spent nearly seven and a half years to the company, fulfilling various policy roles. In November 2022, he was appointed as the director of public policy for Meta India, succeeding Rajiv Aggarwal.
Before this role, Thukral held the position of director of public policy at WhatsApp India for approximately four years. In March 2024, he was promoted to vice-president for public policy at Meta.
"Making this decision was not easy, but I am very confident that our policy engagement with stakeholders is at a credible and constructive point, and we can only build upon that," Thukral stated in a LinkedIn post on June 11.
Thukral reflected that his time at Meta was highly instructive, allowing him to collaborate with key leaders such as Joel Kaplan, Ajit Mohan, Sandeep Bhushan, Rishi Raj Gupta, Manish Chopra, Avinash Pant, Ankhi Das, and Bipasha Chakrabarti.
"There is always more to accomplish, and I am aware that the team is well-prepared to navigate these challenges effectively. Having contributed to the development of some systems and processes, I believe it is an appropriate time to allow the engine and the team to operate independently," he added.
Thukral's future plans remain uncertain at this time. "For now, I intend to concentrate more on my running, health, and family... One should never cease learning, so I will provide updates on my next steps, which will enable me to learn more and engage in new and diverse activities," he remarked.
With a combined user base exceeding one billion monthly users, India represents the largest market for Meta's suite of applications, which includes Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The country is also a vital market for Meta's future expansion, especially concerning its artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.
In April, it was reported that Meta is in discussions with various state governments regarding a significant e-governance initiative in India utilizing its open AI model Llama and the messaging platform WhatsApp.
In recent months, the social media giant has been collaborating with the state governments of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha to implement WhatsApp-based citizen service delivery models, designed to assist citizens in swiftly accessing government services and programs.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.