WhatsApp hires Ezetap’s Abhijit Bose to be its India head

This photo illustration shows an Indian newspaper vendor reading a newspaper with a full back page advertisement from WhatsApp intended to counter fake information, in New Delhi on July 10, 2018. Facebook owned messaging service WhatsApp on July 10 published full-page advertisements in Indian dailies in a bid to counter fake information that has sparked mob lynching attacks across the country. / AFP PHOTO / Prakash SINGH

MUMBAI: Facebook-owned WhatsApp said on Nov 21 it had hired Abhijit Bose, the co-founder and chief executive of Indian mobile payments firm Ezetap, to be the head of its operations in India, its biggest market by users.

The Indian government has pressured the messaging service to build a local team and Bose's appointment comes as WhatsApp tries to curb the spread of misinformation on its service in India where it has more than 200 million users.