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Global CEOs of Nokia and <keyword id="6356812" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ericsson" source="Orion">Ericsson</keyword> see <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> taking lead over the rest of the world in the digital infrastructure with the fastest 5G rollout, making it a bright spot for future economic growth. While speaking at the CII Partnership Summit, Nokia Corporation President and CEO <keyword id="4324516" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="pekka-lundmark" source="Orion">Pekka Lundmark</keyword> said that India will be one of the key winners based on the developments happening around the world. "What I believe is really impressive is the way India has been systematically building the digital ecosystem. Now the most ambitious and the fastest by a big margin 5G rollout in the world, these are our building blocks for the future economic growth in any country and India is really taking a lead in this respect," Lundmark said. He said that India is now the second biggest market for Nokia and the company is exporting 5G base stations from here to other parts of the world. "The next big thing in India will be industrial digitalization, manufacturing industry 4.0 and the opportunity to use this platform that you've been building to attract more and more manufacturing, and also very importantly R&amp;D to the country," Lundmark said. Ericsson, President and CEO, Borje Ekholm said 4G helped build digital companies in the US and China like Facebook, Tencent etc and with rapid 5G rollout India will have the most modern digital infrastructure. "We saw all the big consumer applications developing over the last few years. We have seen them develop in the two countries that built out the first 4G networks in the world. That happened to be the United States and it happened to be China. Almost all jobs in the consumer sector or digitalized in the consumer were created there. "With 5G, we're going to digitize society and those jobs will be created in the country where the digital infrastructure is built first. With the pace India is building out 5G, it will have the most modern digital infrastructure in the world," Ekholm said. Both Ericsson and Nokia pitched for the world to follow a global standard to keep the cost of technology lower otherwise it will hurt economies of scale, digital inclusion of rural masses and the global economy. General Atlantic (India), Managing Director, Sandeep Naik said that India is a top-growing economy and foreign direct investment worth USD 100 billion is estimated to flow in India over the next 10 years. "In terms of private capital entering India, we did around USD 40 billion in 2021, I see that easily going over USD 100 billion in the next five years. I think that is a conservative number in terms of private capital coming into the country. As General Atlantic, we will have a fair share of that market," Naik said. Nestle India, Chairman and Managing Director, <keyword id="2691730" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="suresh-narayanan" source="Orion">Suresh Narayanan</keyword> said that the spectre of inflation, especially food inflation is still there. "We cannot wish it away and we cannot assume that it is not going to be haunting us for a while. This clearly has implications in terms of price values, cost, incomes, expenditures and all of that. The fact that we are a consumption-driven economy, gives us a lot of hedge in terms of some of the global volatilities that we have. "I think an important issue for us is to use the opportunity to digitally transform our businesses across the value chain," <keyword id="49091" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="narayanan" source="Orion">Narayanan</keyword> said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rupee-falls-25-paise-to-82-62-against-us-dollar/articleshow/98662298.cms">Rupee falls 25 paise to 82.62 against US dollar</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sustainability/news/tiny-plastic-shards-are-tearing-through-the-digestive-tracts-of-wild-birds-and-causing-permanent-scarring/articleshow/98662131.cms">Tiny plastic shards are tearing through the digestive tracts of wild birds and causing permanent scarring</a>

Global CEOs see India as a bright spot, leader in 5G rollout

FMCG major <keyword id="6356830" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nestle-india" source="Orion">Nestle India</keyword> is increasing the number of its women employees as part of its gender diversity efforts. Presently, around 23 per cent of <keyword id="75190" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="nestle" source="Orion">Nestle</keyword> <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>'s workforce are women, its Chairman and Managing Director <keyword id="2691730" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="suresh-narayanan" source="Orion">Suresh Narayanan</keyword> said on Monday. "We moved a fair degree on this. When I came to Nestle India in 2015, at that time we were at about 15-16 per cent. We have moved now to 23 per cent," Narayanan told reporters at a virtual media roundtable. Nestle India, which currently operates eight plants in the country and will soon commission the ninth, employs over 7,700 people. "That is not the end, we would like to do much better than this. And in fact last year in 2020, 42 per cent of all the recruitment that we did within the company were women candidates and it is a trend that is continuing this year as well," Narayanan added. At Nestle's new plant in Sanand, Gujarat, which will manufacture its range of popular instant noodles <keyword id="6369404" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="maggi" source="Orion">Maggi</keyword>, 62 per cent of the employees would be female. "One of the epitomes of diversity for the company would be getting commissioned in the next few weeks. Our factory in Sanand is almost near completion. 62 per cent of the Sanand factory workforce would be women," he said. Nestle is investing around Rs 700 crore in the Sanand plant. Besides, Narayanan said Nestle India has invested about Rs 300 crore so far on augmenting capacity of its existing plants. This is part of its earlier announced plans to invest Rs 2,600 crore in the next three-four years. Nestle India has also submitted proposals for the government's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the food processing sector. However, he did not divulge any details. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/salesforce-ventures-backs-indian-payments-giant-razorpay-as-it-looks-to-expand-further-outside-india/articleshow/86388953.cms">Salesforce Ventures backs Indian payments giant RazorPay as it looks to expand further outside India</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/oneplus-sends-legal-notice-to-lawyer-who-alleged-nord-2-explosion-asks-him-to-remove-tweets-and-offer-an-apology/articleshow/86388611.cms">OnePlus sends legal notice to lawyer who alleged Nord 2 explosion — asks him to remove tweets and offer an apology</a>

Maggi maker Nestle says more than 60% of its employees at its new plant in Gujarat would be women

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=suresh+narayanan">Suresh Narayanan</a>, who was appointed as <keyword id="6356830" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nestle-India">Nestle India</keyword>’s MD last week, has a tough job at hand, to re-introduce instant <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=maggi+ban">Maggi noodles</a> and regain consumers’ trust in the brand. 
 
Wan Ling Martello, executive vice-president at Nestle SA and one of the company's directors, is also in Delhi to oversee the transition in India. 
 In a joint interview to Economic Times, they said the company is eager to bring back <keyword id="726194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="maggi-noodles">Maggi noodles</keyword>. 
 
In this regard, Narayanan said he will resolve the issue through dialogue and engagement with all stakeholders, denying that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=nestle+india">Nestle India</a> was ‘on the brink’. 
 
“Deep down in my gut, the words that come to me are, 'we shall overcome.' I want to tell Maggi consumers--trust me, trust my brand. It is safe. To all employees, colleagues and associates who have been on the cause of Nestle for years, I just want to say--you can trust me,” he told ET. 
 
When ET asked Nestle has replaced an expat CEO with an Indian to clean up the mess, Narayanan’s boss Martello said, “Suresh is Indian. But he was in Singapore, Egypt, Philippines. He has capabilities. The last bit was the icing on the cake--that Suresh happens to be Indian. As we look at appointments, it very much depends on at what stage and lifecycle the business is. We also look at what's good for the individual. We have not had an Indian MD (in India) but we have so many Indians in senior management positions (globally). I know Suresh's track record. He has the ability to inspire a team and nurture talent,” she said. 
 
Maggi noodles was banned in India and taken off-shelves after <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=FSSAI">FSSAI</a> found MSG and excess lead content in the popular noodles. 
 
When asked why Nestle India took 10 days to issue its first statement, Martello said that the incident was unfortunate incident and they will collectively reflect on what happened. 
 
“I was not here. The local team was working with the centre. We were also getting test results. I don't want to dwell on what could have gone well. We should have probably gone on TV and be seen eating a bowl of Maggi noodles. I mean, look, I heard a lot of that comment. And you're right. Perception becomes reality. Do you think media handled it properly? There was a bit of a trial by media as well,” she told ET, reiterating the company’s claim Maggi product is safe and they have proof points. 
 
“We've got black and white data. We look forward to engaging with different stakeholders, we expect to engage with FSSAI 100%. The irony of it all is that our interest and objectives are completely aligned with the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Indian+government">Indian government</a>. We do like a hundred million tests across the Nestle group. We have on a global basis 8,000 QA (quality assurance) people... 300 here in India. Whatever category it is, we test more than other people,” Martello told the financial daily. 
 
Meanwhile, when asked if re-introducing Maggi would be a major challenge, Narayanan said that every assignment has had a different challenge. 
“The four and half years I spent in Egypt, Libya and Sudan were the most challenging. Each of the assignments has had a facet that has been energising and stimulated me to give my best,” he said. 
 
“I don't have a magical wand. It will be consistent, systematic hard work. We will step up engagement with government. I am not confrontational. For us quality is trust,” Narayanan told ET. 
 The <keyword id="2880611" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Maggi-controversy">Maggi controversy</keyword> came at a time when <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=prime+minister+narendra+modi">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</a> was pitching for his ‘<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=make+in+india">Make in India</a>’ initiative across the globe. 
 
If India's image in the world outside as a safe destination for investment was hit or not, to this Martello replied, “We've been in India 102 years. We've always been part of the solution versus part of the problem. We have half a million people we touch indirectly. We buy over 90% of our ingredients locally. Think about our suppliers impacted by this. We've been trying to engage with the government to try to get this issue resolved. We should be able to show the world that the government and industry can come together for the good of the Indian consumer.” 
 
(Image: Rajasthanpatrika)

‘Maggi is safe. Trust me, trust my brand,’ says Nestle India’s new MD

Now that the Maggi storm is over, <keyword id="6356830" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nestle-India">Nestle India</keyword> has decided to battle its new competitors like Patanjali hands on, by launching up to 25 products across various categories. 
 
It is also claiming that it has won back 55.5% share in the instant noodles market as against the 77% share that it had before last year’s ban; even though it could take a few more quarters to overcome the Rs 500-crore hit that it suffered because of the ban. 
 "We have weathered the storm, although we still have two cases pending in the court. Now it is the time to ride the wave," Nestle India chairman and managing director <keyword id="2691730" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Suresh-Narayanan">Suresh Narayanan</keyword> told PTI. 
 
As part of its strategy, Nestle India is rejuvenating the existing brands, while also adding new products and entering into new categories, so that it can target a wide range of consumer segment, ranging from babies to youth to women and adults. 
 
Mr Narayanan further elaborated on the company's new launches, saying, "There are about 20-25 product launches, some of them have happened, some are happening and some will happen in four to six weeks time. This is probably the single largest window of new product launches in a long time." 
 
These new products include seven more variants of Maggi, a Greek yogurt brand called Grekyo and a protein growth brand called Pro-Gro in the dairy segment; other than this, multiple products in chocolate and confectionery segments would also be launched. 
 
"We are trying to look at product concepts that are differentiators. The launches are multi-targeted in terms of consumer base that we are looking at," he said. 
 
Moreover, the time for launching new products has been shortened from 12-15 months to 4-6 months, so that it can keep up with the changing market dynamics. 
 
<a href="https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/ap100421028992.jpg?quality=80&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1600">Image source</a>

Nestle is ready to take on Patanjali with 25 new products

The sense of relief is palpable and the delight at having <keyword id="6369404" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Maggi">Maggi</keyword> back on the shelves in India couldn’t have been writ larger on <keyword id="2691730" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Suresh-Narayanan">Suresh Narayanan</keyword>’s face. Narayanan, the new CEO of <keyword id="75190" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nestle">Nestle</keyword> India, was brought in to salvage the situation after catastrophe struck the company earlier this year, one of the world’s largest <keyword id="34523" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="fmcg">FMCG</keyword> companies. For the record, Maggi has been successfully launched back into Indian retail shelves and is being slurped down equally happily across the nation. So, after the tumultuous six months from being banned to being back, what is that one lesson that the entire team of Nestle India has learnt? It is the realization that more than anything else, this multi-thousand crore dent to their revenues in India in the shape of the Maggi-ban was in effect a humongous PR failure - mishandled communication between the company and the food regulatory authorities that led to a spiraling of the tense situation in between the two parties in May this year, before the instant noodles was eventually banned. 
 
“The testing of lead did involve sophisticated equipment, protocols that were fairly well defined and rigorous and also involved testing people who also had to be suitably qualified. All this meant that there were certain labs that were accredited by the NABL and we were only submitting most humbly to the food authorities, if you have wrong reading of the results, it can lead to misinterpretation of the safety and quality of our product. Nestle always chooses direct dialogue respectfully with the authorities which is what we chose at the beginning but it clearly led to a spiraling of the situation,” he said. 
 He went on to say that the company had not violated any food safety norms. “We believe we have not violated any principle but fundamentally we have been reiterating the tenet of the organization that quality equals to trust. We wanted to get across to the <keyword id="154680" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FSSAI">FSSAI</keyword> who for us will always remain the primary food regulator in the country,” he said, on the sidelines of ‘<keyword id="3146782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shared-Value-Summit">Shared Value Summit</keyword>’ at Leela hotel in Gurgaon. 
 
On the concept of 'Creating Shared Value', Narayanan said that the purpose of business is defined not only by growth and profit, but is embedded in the society in which it operates and the various people that it involves. 
 
“Business can progress only when it embeds itself into the value of society and indulge in a form of engagement so that both can gain. We have been able to follow it with our milk, fossil and chicken farmers. Our own market capitalization has increased over 30 times in the last 20 years, and it has all happened because of efforts being put in not only the commercial areas of the operation but also because our partnership with society has evolved across all the countries that we are present in,” he said. 
 
(Image credits: Reuters)

Exclusive: Nestle India CEO admits Maggi ban was the result
of a major breakdown in communication with the Govt

It seems <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=nestle+india">Nestle India</a> is preparing to re-launch Maggi noodles and is shaking up its executives for the same. 
 In one such huge re-jig, <keyword id="2691730" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Suresh-Narayanan">Suresh Narayanan</keyword> will replace Etienne Bennet as India MD as Benet will be relocating to Switzerland, Nestle India’s head office. 
 
Presently, Narayanan is the chairman and CEO of Nestle Philippines. 
 
As per the company statement, Narayanan will function as a designate and the proposal is subject to necessary approvals. 
 
Narayanan joined the Nestle Group in 1999 in India but his career overseas began in 2003 with multiple assignments in South East Asia. 
 
From 2005-2008, he was the head of sales for Nestle's South Asia Region and during his stint there he led major structural and strategic changes in sales and customer management. 
 
He has also served as market head of Nestle's North East Africa Region and achieved significant business growth in a turbulent market environment. 
 
Narayanan’s appointment comes at a time when Nestle India is facing a severe crisis in the country over the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=maggi+ban">Maggi ban</a>. 
 
Reportedly, Maggi, the nation's most popular noodle brand, raked in more than Rs 2,000 crore in annual revenue for the company. While that has stopped now, it spent Rs 320 crore to recall the product. 
 
Nestle India claimed that it did not get an opportunity to explain its stand before the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=FSSAI">FSSAI</a> as state authorities banned the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=instant+noodles">instant noodles</a> alleging excessive levels of lead in it and mislabeling on the pack. 
 
"The way the matter played out was unfair to Nestle. The company wasn't given a chance to prove themselves," Ashwin Bhadri, chief executive at Equinox Labs, which specialises in food testing and works closely with FSSAI on food safety compliance told ET Now. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Maggi may make a comeback soon as Nestle India appoints Suresh Narayanan as new MD

New Delhi, Feb 17 () The 15th Finance Commission on Monday decided to set up an eight-member high level expert group headed by ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri to recommend strategies and measures to increase farm productivity and boost exports.The panel will recommend measurable performance incentives for States to encourage agri exports as well as to promote crops to enable high import substitution, the Finance Commission said in a statement. The committee will submit its recommendations within three months for further consideration of the Commission, it said.As per the Terms of Reference, the panel would "assess export and import substitution opportunities for Indian agricultural products (commodities, semi processed and processed) in the changing international trade scenario and suggest ways to step up exports sustainably and reduce import dependence."It will also recommend strategies and measures to increase farm productivity, enable higher value addition, ensure waste reduction, strengthen logistics infrastructure etc. related to Indian agriculture, to improve the sector's global competitiveness.The panel is expected to identify the impediments for private sector investments along the agricultural value chain and suggest policy measures and reforms that would help attract the required investments.The committee will also suggest appropriate performance-based incentives to the state governments for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26, to accelerate reforms in the agriculture sector as well as implement other policy measures in this regard. Apart from Puri, other members of the committee also included former Agriculture Secretary Radha Singh Nestle India CMD Suresh Narayanan, UPL CEO Jay Shroff and RIS Director General Sachin Chaturvedi. DP MRMR

Finance Commission constitutes expert group on agriculture exports

New Delhi, Apr 4 () FMCG major Nestle India on Saturday announced an initial grant of Rs 15 crore for providing food and essential groceries to the needy amid the coronavirus lockdown. It will also support purchase of medical equipment for hospitals to fight against the Covid-19 outbreak, Nestle India said in a statement. The company has already started with a contribution of Rs 1 crore to Narayana Hrudayalaya Foundation for purchase of ventilators for Delhi/NCR. "We commit to initially, a sum of Rs 15 crores towards feeding programs for less privileged sections of society through participation with leading and credible NGOs engaged in this along with distribution of essential groceries to the needy," Nestle India said. The company would participate with NGOs working on distribution of food and essential groceries. "We have already started the process of donating our brands to local governments to support the needy," it added. Moreover, its employees are helping the Indian Red Cross Society provide relief in the impacted areas through their voluntary contribution program, which is then topped up with equivalent contribution from Nestle India, the statement said. Nestle India Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan said: "We commit ourselves to continue to give every possible support to the communities and to the authorities who are fighting tirelessly and valiantly each day against the spread of this virus. This dedication to a national cause goes from our supply chain, to our factories, our people, our distribution partners, who work round the clock to ensure that we continue to meet the nutritional needs of families." "We heed to a call of duty to ensure that much-needed food and beverage products are available to our consumers and communities throughout the country," he added. Nestle India is also providing a three-month Covid-19 insurance protection to its distribution partners who are delivering goods in the lockdown. India is presently going through an unprecedented complete lockdown of three weeks, ending on April 14, to prevent the spread of the virus. According to the latest report from the Health Ministry, the total number of Covid-19 cases in India climbed to 2,902, with the death count at 68. KRH ABMABM

Covid-19: Nestle announces Rs 15 cr grant

Mumbai, Jan 17 () E-commerce giant Amazon's chief executive and world's richest person Jeff Bezos on Friday concluded his three-day India visit with meeting captains of Indian industry.
Among those who met included Reliance Industries chairman and richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, who is also into retailing, and a host of other c-suite honchos.
The meeting was held at a star hotel in South Mumbai this morning.
Others who were present included SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar, Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, Zarin Daruwala of Standard Chartered Bank, Xiaomi's India Head Manu Jain, Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and Bank of America's Kaku Nakhate.
Retail and Fast Moving Consumer Goods players, including Kishore Biyani of Fture Group (where Amazon has an investment), Hindustan Unilever's Sanjiv Mehta, Nestle India's Suresh Narayanan and Proctor and Gamble India's Madhusudhan Gopalan were also present.
Sunil Mittal of Bharti Airtel was also present for the meeting wherein Bezos was accompanied by the head of Amazon in India, Amit Agarwal.
Among others were Infosys' Salil Parekh, HSBC's Surendra Rosha and Ola's Bhavish Agarwal.
 The business leaders posed for a group photo on the hotel's stairs before departing.
Bezos visited Rajghat in New Delhi on Tuesday, followed it up with a meet with small businesses on Wednesday and spent time with Bollywood celebrities on Thursday evening as part of the visit.
He has announced investments of USD 1 billion over the next few years and also create 1 million new jobs in India by 2025.
Bezos could not reportedly get an audience with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stoked a controversy by stating that the e-commerce giant which is being investigated for predatory pricing is not doing India any favour by the investment. AA MKJ

Jeff Bezos meets industry captains, concludes 3-day India visit

Nestle’s Maggi noodles has still not been able to come out of the effect of the ban period. The revenue of <keyword id="6356830" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nestle-India">Nestle India</keyword>’s Maggi was hit badly and the company will take as many as 3 years to recover the losses. 
 
Asia head of Nestle, Wan Ling Martello, in an interview to Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag, said they would try to make up for the loss as early as possible. 
 
"With regards to other categories or other companies, conventional wisdom will tell you that it will take three years to come back to the pre-crisis mode, but...I am pushing for it not to be three years, so we will see," said Martello, executive vice-president at Nestle SA, said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag. 
 
Maggi is trying to restore faith in consumers by running television and print ads and campaigns. 
 
Nestle, in its full year earnings, said that growth of its Zone AOA (Asia, Oceania and Africa) region, at 0.5%, was "seriously impacted by the Maggi noodles issue in India". 
 Nestle India Chairman Suresh Narayanan had said that the impact of the <keyword id="2878534" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="maggi-ban">Maggi ban</keyword> was faced by factories, employees, partners, suppliers, farmers, retailers and customers. 
 
Nestle had destroyed over 30,000 tonnes of Maggi and reported its first loss in three decades - at Rs 64 crore - in the April-June 2015 quarter. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

It will take Nestle 3 years to undo the Maggi damage in India

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=smartphones&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Smartphones</a> have made deep inroads in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=rural+india&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">rural India</a> and even they have a ‘selfie’ fetish, similar to urban kinds. 
 
The smartphone trend is rising in rural sector, so much so that the rural population is using money to recharge their phones to watch online videos than spending on low-cost <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=FMCG&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">FMCG</a> items such as cold drinks, chocolates, etc. 
 
The ten-rupee recharge pack is a hit in rural India. 
 
"The 'selfie culture' is making consumers spend more on their phones rather than on fast-moving consumer products, which are discretionary," Suresh Narayanan, managing director of Nestle India, told ET. 
 
As per the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=iamai&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Internet &amp; Mobile Association of India</a> (IAMAI), the mobile internet user base in rural India nearly doubled in 2015, while in urban sector, it increased by 71%. 
 
"Spends on mobile recharges - or low-priced entertainment options - have been replacing impulse buys in rural markets. It's been directly impacting a category like ours and we've been observing this for the past four-five quarters," Perfetti Van Melle's Managing Director Ramesh Jayaraman told ET. 
 
In a bid to attract rural population, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=coca+cola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Coca-Cola</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=pepsi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">PepsiCo</a> even went aggressive and slashed prices to Rs 5 per serving. 
 
"In rural areas, there was lesser money because of two years of deficit rainfall. Whatever little money was in their hands, rural consumers preferred to spend on mobile recharge rather than colas. In urban markets, extreme heat prevented consumers from stepping out and impacted our sales. Besides, there are other options like water and functional drinks which did better," ET quoted a person as saying. 
 
According to Hong Kong-based market tracker Counterpoint Research, almost a third of smartphone sales are in rural India, which is poised to double this year, whereas the total market is estimated to grow by 30%. 
 
(Image: BCCL)

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Global CEOs see India as a bright spot, leader in 5G rollout

PTI

Maggi maker Nestle says more than 60% of its employees at its new plant in Gujarat would be women

PTI

‘Maggi is safe. Trust me, trust my brand,’ says Nestle India’s new MD

BI India Bureau

Nestle is ready to take on Patanjali with 25 new products

BI India Bureau

Exclusive: Nestle India CEO admits Maggi ban was the result of a major breakdown in communication with the Govt

Anushree Singh

Maggi may make a comeback soon as Nestle India appoints Suresh Narayanan as new MD

BI India Bureau

Finance Commission constitutes expert group on agriculture exports

PTI

Covid-19: Nestle announces Rs 15 cr grant

PTI

Jeff Bezos meets industry captains, concludes 3-day India visit

PTI

It will take Nestle 3 years to undo the Maggi damage in India

BI India Bureau

For rural India, mobile recharges are important than colas, chocolates

BI India Bureau

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