INTERNATIONAL

India Firms Want Coke Kept Out: The All-India Soft Drink Manufacturers’ Assn. asked the government not to allow Coca-Cola to re-enter the Indian market. It told Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao that the U.S. giant would badly hurt the domestic soft drink industry. The multinational, which shut down its Indian operation in 1977, seeks to return through a joint venture. Coca-Cola left India after refusing to reduce its equity stake to 40%. Rival Pepsi Inc. entered the Indian market in March, 1989.