7/27/2019 About Current Affairs Underlying the Concept is a Uniquely Indian Mind Set

1/1

About current affairs underlying the concept is a uniquely Indian mind set

A few years after it won government approval,General knowledgeabout Pepsiacquired the holdings of its two partners, Voltas Limited and Punjab Agro-IndustriesCorporation. In a major restructuring of its operations, Pepsi set up a holding

company, Pepsi India Holdings, a 100 per cent subsidiary of PepsiCo International.Today, the company has a 43 per cent share of India's US$750 million soft drinksmarket. Another unit, Pepsi Foods Limited, manufactures and markets snackfoodsunder the Ruffles brand. Recently, it acquired an interest in Haldirams, amanufacturer of traditional Indian cereal-based snacks. Additionally, the companyalso introduced its Pizza Hut chain of restaurants in 1996.

In a curious twist to the Pepsi saga, Parle, the Indian soft-drink manufacturer that ledthe opposition to Pepsi's entry, sold out to Coca-Cola, Pepsi's international rival. Thesale of Parle to Coke is not without irony for the Indian company had orchestrated itsanti-Pepsi campaign on a nationalist platform, arguing that India did not need foreigninvestors to make soft drinks. Parle's campaign against Pepsi evoked a sentimentthat in 1997 became a slogan for the BJP's swadeshibrand of economic policy:'India needs computer chips, not potato chips.'About current affairsunderlying theconcept is a uniquely Indian mindset that believes consumer goods are frivolouswhile industrial products such as steel, cement and chemicals are what the nationneeds.

Nevertheless, the entry of Pepsi into the Indian market achieved what the companysaid it would. Today, there is keen competition in the soft-drinks market, which wasonce dominated by Parle whose market share exceeded 70 per cent. This has led tobetter distribution systems, which were once marked by shortages even in primeurban markets during the peak summer season. Innovation is rapid andnew products are on shelves faster than most Indians dreamed possible. BetweenPepsi and Coke sponsorships, India's competitive sports and entertainment marketsare booming.

Pepsi's long struggle to enter the Indian market emphasizes the need for patiencewhen it comes to setting up a business in India. For that, parent company backing iscritical. Also, Pepsi's handling of its Indian entry was widely acknowledged for itsdiplomatic finesse. The Indian experience, in that sense, gave a worldwide boost toPepsi's reputation.

The interplay between Indian business, foreign capital and Indian politics can begauged from the experience of three major international companies that enteredIndia in the late 1980s and the early 1990s encouraged by the liberal progressivegovernment of Rajiv Gandhi: Pepsi, Whirlpool and STAR TV.

it during the summer of 1988. This was an important tactical victory because virtually70 per cent of annual soft drinks sales are in the summer months from April toAugust. In the end, Pepsi started in India in September 1988, nearly two and a halfyears after its original application.

http://mba.halfmantr.com/index.php/about-current-affairs-and-general-knowledgehttp://mba.halfmantr.com/index.php/about-current-affairs-and-general-knowledgehttp://mba.halfmantr.com/index.php/about-current-affairs-and-general-knowledgehttp://mba.halfmantr.com/index.php/about-current-affairs-and-general-knowledgehttp://mba.halfmantr.com/index.php/about-current-affairs-and-general-knowledgehttp://mba.halfmantr.com/index.php/about-current-affairs-and-general-knowledgehttp://mba.halfmantr.com/index.php/about-current-affairs-and-general-knowledgehttp://mba.halfmantr.com/index.php/about-current-affairs-and-general-knowledge