India does have huge potential, real question is speed of growth: Nooyi

India has a huge potential and the real question is the speed of growth and how many roadblocks it is willing to remove, former PepsiCo chairperson Indra Nooyi has said.

Nooyi, in October last year, stepped down as the CEO of the global beverage giant, after 24 years with the company, the last 12 as its CEO.

"The country does have huge potential, talent wise, population, everything, the country has huge potential. The real question is the speed of growth and how many roadblocks are we willing to remove," Nooyi said responding to a question on India and its growth potential during an interaction hosted by the Consulate General of India in the city on Thursday.

"India has got to do what is right for India. I am not the person to opine on that. India has got to do what is right for India, just as Europe should do what is right for Europe," she said.

Nooyi was the guest speaker at the 'New India Lecture' series, organised by the Consulate under the aegis of Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty and in partnership with the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

On the various geo-political uncertainties around the world and their impact on the global economic and social sphere, she said there have been many times in the past where there has been geopolitical uncertainty.

"It's been in different forms but it's always been there. Big companies just learn to power through."
Nooyi, answering a question on where does she see a balance between online retail and brick and mortar, said "if there is a shake out in retail, I won't blame it on Amazon. That's just retail getting efficient. Amazon is just improving the customer experience. Traditional retailer created a lot of friction in the system, and where there is friction, there is Amazon to take out the friction."
"That confidence that we all got, growing up, and that incredible sense of responsibility that education was important, listening to the elders was very important and striving to do better and better all the time and being held accountable for that made a profound difference to my life."