New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS): Facebook on Monday announced the appointment of Rajiv Aggarwal, a former IAS officer, as the Director of Public Policy to lead important policy development initiatives for the social media giant 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 And Managing Director, Facebook India and will be a part of the India leadership team.

"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 recognise as our responsibility," Mohan said in a statement.

Aggarwal comes with 26 years of experience as an IAS officer. 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 the country'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.

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.