The explosion of consumerism in the eighties can be directly attributed to two Rajiv actions-liberalisation in the consumer products sector and the development of television.While the first opened the floodgates on the production side,the second made it possible for the manufacturers to create a market for their plethora of goodies.
MODERN TECHNOLOGY:The message finally got through to the great Indian middle class-that it was no longer sinful to splurge and enjoy the luxuries of modern technology.The message also got across to the financial sector-that India was ready for a -'buy now,pay later' age.
ENTRY OF PEPSI:The entry of Pepsi into India perhaps demonstrates the contrasting attitudes of Rajiv Gandhi's school of thought and the old school represented by people like George Fernandes. Ten years after the later threw out Coke as a hated symbol of economic imperialism,the former cleared the way for the entry of its arch-rival