Shivnath Thukral to Step Down as Meta India’s Public Policy VP

Shivnath Thukral, Vice President of Public Policy at Meta India, announced that he will step down by June end, after serving for nearly seven and a half years.

In a LinkedIn post, Thukral described the decision as “not an easy” one but said he is stepping away “very confident that our policy engagement with stakeholders is at a credible and constructive juncture.” 

Thukral acknowledged his team's contributions, stating that it is now a good time to let the engine and the team work independently. 

Reflecting on his time at Meta, Thukral said the company has taught him a great deal and allowed him to work with leaders, including Joel Kaplan, Ajit Mohan, Sandeep Bhushan, Rishi Raj Gupta, Manish Chopra, Avinash Pant, Ankhi Das, and Bipasha Chakrabarti as key figures in that journey.

While he did not specify his next professional move, Thukral said he intends to spend more time on “running, health and family.” 

"Shivnath Thukral is leaving Meta to pursue new opportunities. As a member of the India leadership team, he played a key role in navigating and shaping policy and regulatory conversations and engagements that were critical for the industry and Meta in India over the last 7.5 years. We thank him for his leadership and contributions, and wish him well in his future endeavours," said Kevin Martin, VP, Head of Global Policy, Meta.

In a recent podcast with AIM, Thukral said that India’s AI future is open source. In a chat with Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary at MeitY, they discussed why this approach works well for India and how it can help billions of people.

Note: The article has been updated to include comments from Kevin Martin, Vice President and Head of Global Policy at Meta.