UPDATE 3-Pepsi withdraws Indian potato farmer lawsuits after political pressure

PepsiCo Inc has agreed to withdraw lawsuits against Indian potato farmers it alleged infringed a patent by cultivating a variety grown exclusively for its Lay's potato chips. "After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw the cases against the farmers," a PepsiCo India spokesman said on Thursday, adding that this applied to all nine. The decision comes at a particularly sensitive time in India, which is about halfway through a 39-day general election in which its rural population still has a dominant voice.

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