Can I use WhatsApp to reach B2B prospects in India, or only people who have messaged us first?

WhatsApp is a good channel in Indian B2B once a relationship exists and a poor one for a first touch. Meta's policy for the WhatsApp Business Platform says a business may message only people who have opted in to hear from it, by name, and any message outside a 24-hour window after the person last wrote must be an approved template, which Meta has charged for per delivered message since 1 July 2025, priced by category and the recipient's country. Meta has kept changing which messages are free, so check the current rate card before you budget. Cold messages from a rep's personal WhatsApp skip the template rules but not the consequences: people block and report, and enough reports can get the number banned, which is a bad trade for a sales phone. Use it where it works: confirming a meeting someone booked, sending the deck after a call, keeping a pilot moving with your champion, and support once they are a customer. Collect the opt-in where they give you the number, on a form or on a call, and keep it with the rest of your consent records, since the DPDP rules cover it too.