(FORTUNE Magazine) – McDonald's menus in India, where the chain hopes to begin operations in 1995, will have an unusual twist: They will offer no beef, reflecting the Hindu belief that the cow is sacred. Hindus comprise 80% of India's 890 million population. The company has yet to decide what to put in its buns. But it may copy its most visible local competitor, Nirula's, a fast-growing private outfit with 16 restaurants in the New Delhi area, five in Nepal, and one in Muscat, Oman. Nirula's menu includes burgers with lamb or mixed vegetable patties. Not everyone is susceptible to McDonald's appeal as a slice of Americana. Notes Farhad Vania, 27, an environmental activist in New Delhi: ''We need foreign investment, but we don't need McDonald's. But we are a culturally colonized generation, so it might be considered the 'cool place' when it starts here.'' McDonald's gets a far more gracious welcome from Nirula's. Says joint managing director Deepak Nirula, whose father co-founded the company: ''Foreign chains will expand the Indian market by making the awareness of fast food greater. The competition will improve service standards. It's good for everyone.''