WhatsApp has agreed to consider Hyderabad when it decides to have a presence in India.
CEO Chris Daniels, who met IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao here on Thursday, “responded positively” when the latter pitched Hyderabad to host the customer service operations centre of WhatsApp, an official release on the meeting said.
The instant messaging platform would “definitely consider Hyderabad”, was what he told the Minister, according to a senior official of the State government present during the meeting.
The response of Mr. Daniels, who was accompanied by Shivnath Thukral, head, Public Policy Division of Facebook India, to the meeting, comes close on the heels of the Centre asking WhatsApp to set up a local corporate entity, appoint a grievance officer in India as well as find a solution to trace the origin of fake messages.
Telangana IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said, “A request was formally made [to Mr. Daniels] to consider Hyderabad for their India presence and he agreed to look into it.” Thus, Hyderabad has a better chance to host the WhatsApp customer service centre, he added. The city is already home to some of the largest development centres of most valued firms, including Apple and Google.
Mr. Daniels, who was formerly with Facebook, is not new to Hyderabad as he had been to the city before. He was impressed with how Facebook has been able to create a “large footprint here, able to access good talent and do quality work”, Mr. Ranjan said.
During the meeting, Mr. Rao explained to the WhatsApp head how the messaging platform was being used in the State as a tool to improve governance, in taking timely decision as well as a medium for citizens to raise issues.
Workshop for cops
WhatsApp, the IT Secretary said, has agreed to work with the Telangana government to find some practical solutions for the issue of fake news. It would also work with the Police Department, by holding a workshop for the personnel, on how WhatsApp can become an important tool in crime prevention.