PepsiCo's Vipul Prakash appointed as COO of MakeMyTrip and GoIbibo

In the role as COO, Prakash will be responsible for developing and executing strategic direction and priorities of the company.

Online travel firm MakeMyTrip Tuesday said it has appointed Vipul Prakash as chief operating officer(COO) for MakeMyTrip and Goibibo.

In his previous role, Prakash served as senior vice president - beverage category for PepsiCo-India, MakeMyTrip said in a statement.

In the role as COO, Prakash will be responsible for developing and executing strategic direction and priorities of the company, it added.

"We are confident that his proven track record and extensive experience will extend MakeMyTrip's upward trajectory," MakeMyTrip co-founder and CEO India Rajesh Magow said.

Vipul's rich experience of two decades at PepsiCo spanning geographies, deep understanding of consumer market and expertise in the industry, leading operational practices are truly invaluable, he added.

He was associated with PepsiCo for 20 years. He holds a post-graduate diploma in management from IIM Ahmedabad and a mechanical engineering degree from IIT Delhi, it added.

Business Standard

PepsiCo spends Rs 20 million to put an end to social media digs at Kurkure

PepsiCo India spokesperson said fake news suggesting Kurkure has plastic in it has affected the brand's reputation.

If you are not living under a rock, you must have come across posts, tweets, videos explaining how Kurkure, a popular snack from the stable of PepsiCo India, can catch fire easily, implying it contains plastic.

PepsiCo India has now secured an interim 'John Doe' or ' Ashok Kumar' order from the Delhi High Court, which could put an end to the controversy — at least on social media.

From Twitter to YouTube, Facebook to Instagram, the order would entail deleting any such post maligning Kurkure and its maker. While this is the first instance of a company asking all social media platforms to delete offensive posts about its brand, there have been similar cases earlier, albeit on a smaller scale.

In March, cigarette-to-hotels major ITC received a favourable order from the civil court in Bengaluru, debarring the circulation of videos on WhatsApp and Facebook that falsely claimed Aashirvaad Atta had plastic. The order had come after ITC filed police complaints in Kolkata and Hyderabad against people spreading false news.

The same month saw Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved getting an interim order from the Delhi High Court, directing Facebook, Google and YouTube to take down a video blog that disparaged its atta brand.

However, the order favouring PepsiCo is staggering to say the least. Estimates suggest over 20,000 Facebook posts, 3,412 Facebook links, 242 YouTube videos, 6 Instagram links, and 562 tweets about Kurkure have been ordered to be deleted. Ironically, the firm recently spent Rs 20 million to curb the rumours.

When contacted, Facebook and YouTube told Business Standard they had received the court order and had initiated action. According to a Google India spokesperson, all video URLs that were mentioned in the order have been removed from YouTube.

A Facebook spokesperson said: “When governments believe that something on the internet violates their laws, they may contact companies like Facebook and ask us to restrict access to that content. Similarly, we may receive orders to restrict content from courts. If, after careful legal review, we determine the order is valid and enforceable, we might make the content unavailable in the relevant country and notify people who try to access it why it is restricted.”

Article Source BS

Maharashtra govt softens plastic ban after industry lobbying

The government banned the sale of plastic bottles containing drinking water less under 200 millilitres.

Plastic Ban : Maharashtra has eased a ban against single-use plastic, just over a week after it was imposed, following what sources said was intense lobbying by multinational companies and plastic industry bodies for softer rules and extensions.

Maharashtra, home to India's financial capital of Mumbai, has allowed e-commerce companies to use plastic packaging for three more months, according to a government order dated June 30, which was published on Tuesday.

During these three months, e-commerce firms will have to come up with a buyback plan to collect used plastic packaging material, ensure its recycling and disposal as well as source alternative packaging material.

The ban, which came into effect on June 23, had threatened a sharp rise in costs for retailers, beverage makers and sellers of bottled water, among other companies that rely on plastic for packaging.

Representatives of companies including Amazon, H&M, Pepsi and Coca-Cola, as well as plastic lobby groups, met Maharashtra government officials days before the ban, urging them to implement the rule in phases and relax some norms, Reuters quoted four sources as saying on Friday.

A senior government official, who was involved in the talks and did not wish to be identified due to government rules, said changes to the ban had been made after considering the industry demands.

Maharashtra's top environment official Anil Diggikar did not answer calls or texts seeking comment.

In its latest order, the government banned the sale of plastic bottles containing drinking water less under 200 millilitres. It also did not specify a buyback price for empty bottles used for selling beverages other than water, a move that could potentially help soft drink makers.

Amazon, Pepsi and Coca-Cola declined to comment on the modifications to the ban. H&M did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The latest rules also exempt the use of plastic packaging of medical equipment and drugs.

Plastic could be used for wrapping products by manufacturers, if the material used was thicker than 50 microns, comprised at least 20 percent recyclable material and had the manufacturer's details and buyback price printed on it, the order said.

Maharashtra's move to ban plastic, the first such broad action against the material by an Indian state, comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushes a plan to completely end the use of single-use plastic in India by 2022.