New Delhi: Coca-Cola India, the soft drink and beverage maker, has set a target of 2013 to become net water positive through recycling and replenishment of its total usage in the country.

The company's India chief Atul Singh told DNA Money, "By 2013, we will be net positive on the total water used within India. Our water usage has come down by 30-35% over the last four years. Also, about 70-80% of the groundwater that we pull out we recycle or replenish."

The company uses water as a raw material to produce aerated drinks and juices. When multinational food and beverage companies set up operations in a country, they try to become water positive there to save on input costs.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola's announced investment of $250 million over the next 3 years is on track. "We have approved projects worth more than $250 million.

"Some of the projects have been initiated and rest will start soon. For example, our investment plans for buying cold drink equipment and trucks, etc, are on track. If needed, we will look at further investments," Singh said.

He said globally, the company has more than 400 brands, including aerated drinks, juices and health drinks. Some of these would be launched in India in the future. "When the timing is right, we will launch them in India ... we evaluate global brands plus local products," Singh said. He, however, did not provide details on the new launches.

Coca-Cola is also running a pilot for its first mango contract manufacturing project in Andhra Pradesh. The company's case volumes in India increased 31% in the January-March period of 2009.

Non-US markets contributed as much as 75% to the total revenues of Coca-Cola global. The multinational's dependence on markets such as Brazil, India, China and Russia is increasing as it diversifies to mitigate risks.

Last week, the company's biggest rival, PepsiCo, said it would invest over $220 million in its Indian operations this year. While PepsiCo will invest over $170 million into this, the rest would be contributed by its bottling partners.