1c.

) Words: 304

Coke is one of the most valuable brands in the world. Though India’s market share of the Coke is
low when compared with other major markets, India’s growing population with increase in
disposable incomes pose an attractable proposition to conquer. Within India, the rural markets
promote a significant opportunity for market penetration and solid battleground for market
promotion and dominance.

Coca-Cola success depends on the ability to maintain brand image for existing products and
effectively building up brand equity for new products. The rising concerns of water exploitation and
presence of pesticide residuals in coke warrants a relook to strengthen its brand equity. Coca-Cola
can consider the following actions in order to achieve so:

 Responsible CSR activities: CSR activities which goes beyond making profits to achieve
positive social goal.
 Use the vast distribution network for disaster relief, raise awareness on issues such as PET
recycling, plastic degradation and make the availability/presence of brand in communities to
improve the access to health, education and drinkable, safe water.
 Partnership with NGOs, local governments and communal bodies: Coca-Cola should work in
mitigating the local concerns.
 Create an Advisory Board, fill it with eminent personalities from different walks of the
society to afford some protection from the criticism, and the board gives an easy access to
the country's top decision-makers, which is a useful resource in the need of legal or social
action.
 Marketing Activities:  Leverage the online/social media networks to engage the
customers/consumers and prompt them to share their experiences with Coke with
other communities. Make human connections, remain innovative while staying true
to simple principles, and create enriching experiences for responsible consumption.
 Sustainable Branding – Usage of sustainable material in packaging, sustainable
processes and sustainable audits
 Partner/Voice for Social concerns – Staying relevant with social issues in the land is a
good opportunity for visible branding of Coke.

2Ans) Words: 712

The Supreme Court of India has declared in the famous Menaka case that the Right to a
decent environment, including pollution-free water, is part of Article 21 of the Indian
Constitution. Article 39 directs the state to secure an equitable distribution of the
community's material resources for the common good, whereas Article 48A directs the state
to protect and improve the environment. The Indian regulators should apply these
constitutional principles in principle to increase the welfare of the country.
 
Globalization also resulted in an exchange of cultures across the world. Though Coca-Cola
had to face many issues regarding its quality, resource exploitation, and market exploitation
along with price-quality trade-offs, customers are using Coca-Cola due to its strong brand
reputation all over the world. This is because Indians are now using more soft drinks and the
youngsters are more in this category. Though Coke does not produce a critical ingredient
that adds to either the nutrition or the country's food needs, governments should leave
the decision to the discretion of the customer. 
 
1.Standards or regulations for pesticide levels in soft drinks: Government should
immediately come up with the acceptable limit of pesticide levels in soft drinks. The
standards should be comparable with that of the other regulators in the world like the USA,
European Union.
 
2. Tax on groundwater usage: The use of groundwater is nearly free of charge in India,
whereas it is taxable in developed countries like the USA. The exploitation of water
resources results in the commodification of water in the near future. The Plachimada water
controversy in Kerala can be seen as an example of water conflict in the near future.
Draining water levels affects farmers and women in the lower communities taking a severe
toll on their life and health. Governments need to control this by taxing groundwater usage,
promoting rainwater harvesting techniques, recycling wastewater, etc. Proportional
Taxation for proportional usage of groundwater.
 
3. Incentives: The regulator can incentivize the company to produce health drinks and
nutrient fortified drinks to promote the public's health. The incentives can also be made for
the efficient usage of water in producing cola drinks. Incentivize to setup cola plants in the
coastal regions (desalinized water usage for coal production).
 
4. Socialistic policies in 1977 drove Coca-Cola out of the country. The economic reforms in
1991 paved the way for Globalization and Liberalization in India. Coca-Cola, with renewed
vigor, entered the Indian market again in 1993. Capitalism needs some regulation to protect
the vulnerable of the society. Encourage free-market capitalism with slight regulation:
Indian government should give importance to the ecological imbalance while also keeping in
mind the ease of doing business in the country. Capital flight into the country is essential for
economic growth and development.
 
5. Promote Sustainable development policies: The ability of the countries to ensure
distributive equity and environmental sustainability in their activities at the national level—
which adequate, participatory regulatory controls currently exist—may be threatened by
even the most nascent of steps toward a global water market. The motives of distributive
equity and environmental sustainability can be best pursued through broader participatory
governance structures that operate at the most local level of governments practicable and
that display a more outstanding commitment to the integrated policy formulation and
assessment.
 
6. Liberalization of trading with cross border mobile capital disrupts the just distribution of
resources by promoting the cumulative gains in wealth without the on-ground prospect of
accompanying benefits to losing participants. It endangers the local level and national level
communities by restricting the blanket of public influence over the capital and
strengthening MNCs like Coca-Cola to market culturally inflected goods globally. 
 
7.Turning away Coke might send a wrong signal to other global investors and trade
retaliation from their home countries, which can affect the imports and exports of the
country.            
 
8. CSR policies: If people are altruistic and behave willingly in the interests of those in the
larger society, the tragedy of the commons can be avoided. In a business sense, the tragedy
of the commons can be avoided if businesses have a corporate social responsibility (CSR)
policy that goes beyond profit to accomplish a meaningful social purpose. The government
should enforce the Responsible CSR programs by the company, which will result in the
greater good for the society.