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Understanding Jugaad:

Multidisciplinary Approach

Project Report [No. R&D/HSS/2013371]

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

Indian Institute of Technology

Kanpur 208016

July 2016

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Contents

Contents-----2

List of Figures-----5

List of Images-----6

List of Video Films-----10

Acknowledgements-----11

Executive Summary-----12

Chapter 1: Introduction: The Project-----17

Research Questions-----18

Chapter 2: An Overview of the Report-----20

Chapter 3: Jugaad: The Concept and Its Limitations-----25

Jugaad: The Concept-----26

Innovation vs Jugaad-----27

Jugaad: The Strategy-----29

Limitations of Jugaad-----30

Quantitative Approach to Jugaad-----31

Chapter 4: Jugaad and Innovation-----35

Defining Innovation-----35

Defining Jugaad-----36

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Where Does Jugaad Thrive?-----37

Problem Solving-----39

Motivational Difference-----40

Chapter 5: Creativity and Innovation: A Psychological Perspective-----42

Creativity and Innovation-----42

The Question of Attitude-----47

An Engineer’s Perspective-----48

Real Innovation in Manufacturing-----52

An Interview with Kewal Dharamshi-----57

Chapter 6: Jugaad Captured on Films-----59

Jugaad Vans of Bengal-----59

Tyre Chapa-----69

Marriage Lighting----71

Mobile Sharpener------73

Mobile Edge Breaker-----75

Room Heater-----76

Jugaad Irrigation Companion (Bidi)-----78

Jugaad Separator Fan-----80

Jugaad Boring-----82

Diesel Fired Oven-----84

Diesel Gaadi-----86

Jugaad Loader-----88

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Jugaad Water Heater-----89

Jugaad Sarkanna-----90

Jugaad Turbine-----91

Chapter 7: Agricultural Alternatives-----94

Koop-----94

Mai-----95

Sprinkler Irrigation-----95

Tube Well and Hose-----96

Hand Blower-----98

Chapter 8: Jugaad Workshop-----101

Sarkanna-----101

Winnowing Fan-----110

Multi Jugaad Kit 2000-----121

Chapter 9: Bus Transport System: A case study on Kanpur-----127

Problems Faced by Bus drivers in Kanpur-----128

Jugaad Innovations in Buses-----136

Chapter 10: Conclusion-----140

References-----142

The Team-----143

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List of Figures

Figure 3.1: Dimensions of jugaad-----25

Figure 5.1: Gabriel Tarde’s S-shaped diffusion curve-----41

Figure 5.2: Theoretical model of jugaad-----45

Figure 8.1: Steps followed in the farming process-----95

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List of Images

Image 5.1: Koop-----42

Image 5.2: Mai-----43

Image 6.1: Jugaad van carrying people-----55

Image 6.2: Jugaad van under construction-----59

Image 6.3: Jugaad mechanic at work-----60

Image 6.4: Van with a motorcycle engine-----61

Image 6.5: Machines that make a jugaad van-----62

Image 6.6: Front view of the Jugaad van-----64

Image 6.7: Mechanic at work-----64

Image 6.8: Jugaad tyre chapa-----66

Image 6.9: Jugaad marriage lighting trolleys-----68

Image 6.10: Jugaad mobile sharpener-----70

Image 6.11: Jugaad mobile edge-breaker-----71

Image 6.12: Jugaad room heater-----71

Image 6.13: Jugaad bidi-----73

Image 6.14: Jugaad separator fan-----76

Image 6.15: Jugaad boring-----78

Image 6.16: Jugaad diesel-fired oven-----79

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Image 6.17: Jugaad gaadi-----80

Image 6.18: Jugaad loader-----81

Image 6.19: Jugaad water heater-----82

Image 6.20: Jugaad sarkanna-----84

Image 6.21: Jugaad turbine-----85

Image 7.1 : Mai in the field-----88

Image 7.2: Demonstration of sprinkler irrigation-----89

Image 7.3: Motor on which sprinklers run-----89

Image 7.4: Hose-----90

Image 7.5: Tube well-----91

Image 7.6: Furnace-----92

Image 7.7: Iron pipe-----92

Image 7.8: Fan-----93

Image 7.9: Handle to rotate the fan-----93

Image 8.1: Demonstration of sarkanna-----95

Image 8.2: Shaft attached to shovel head-----96

Image 8.3: Rope connected to shovel head-----96

Image 8.4: Shovel head-----97

Image 8.5: Sarkanna-----97

Image 8.6: T-shaped handle-----98

Image 8.7: Blisters on hand caused due to a slippery grip-----98

Image 8.8: Team members at work------99

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Image 8.9: Concept 1-----100

Image 8.10: Concept 2-----100

Image 8.11: Concept 3-----101

Image 8.12: Prototyping process-----101

Image 8.13: Grain and husk-----103

Image 8.14: Demonstration of winnowing fan and separation of chaff-----104

Image 8.15: Bicycle fan, concept 1-----105

Image 8.16: Bicycle fan, concept 2-----106

Image 8.17: Bicycle fan, concept 3-----106

Image 8.18: Natural material fan-----106

Image 8.19: Natural material fan made from bamboo-----107

Image 8.20: Chaff funnel-----107

Image 8.21: Tube-----108

Image 8.22: Slide-----109

Image 8.23: Spokes being removed and taped together-----109

Image 8.24: Bicycle part after creating blades-----110

Image 8.25: Frame-making-----111

Image 8.26: Welding process-----111

Image 8.27: The prototype-----112

Image 8.28: Multi-jugaad kit-----112

Image 8.29: Manual battery charger-----114

Image 8.30: Jugaadu pankha-----114

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Image 8.31: The prototype-----117

Image 9.1: Instrument console damaged due to excessive heat-----121

Image 9.2: Instrument cluster in bright light-----121

Image 9.3: Switches placed on top-----122

Image 9.4: Switches placed underneath the steering----123

Image 9.5: Small window aperture on Swaraj Mazda bus----124

Image 9.6: Heat boils and burn marks on a driver’s leg-----124

Image 9.7: Tiny external rear view mirrors-----125

Image 9.8: Bottle causing obstruction in the driver’s foot well area-----125

Image 9.9: Loose wires hanging from the instrument cluster-----126

Image 9.10: Bus driver without safety belt-----127

Image 9.11: Jugaad fan in driver’s cabin-----128

Image 9.12: A brick based solution with an aim to ease foot pain-----128

Image 9.13: Gear cooler to avoid engine heat from entering foot well-----129

Image 9.14: Jugaad based switch installation-----129

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List of Video Films

1. The Jugaad vans of Bengal 0:25:4

2. Jugaad tyre chapa 0:3:41

3. Jugaad marriage lighting trolleys 0:3:18

4. Jugaad mobile sharpener 0:4:18

5. Jugaad mobile edge-breaker 0:4:40

6. Jugaad room heater 0:2:47

7. Jugaad bidi 0:2:47

8. Jugaad separator fan 0:3:27

9. Jugaad boring 0:9:49

10. Jugaad diesel-fired oven 0:3:41

11. Jugaad gaadi 0:7:03

12. Jugaad loader 0:8:24

13. Jugaad water heater 0:3:33

14. Jugaad sarkanna 0;1:34

15. Jugaad turbine 8:9:14

16. Manual battery charger 7:35

17. Jugaad gadi 2 0:6:66

18. Tubewell 0:7:07

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Acknowledgements

This project would not have been possible without the effort and assistance of

many individuals. We sincerely appreciate the support and guidance of all those

people who have been instrumental in making this project a success.

We would like to express our gratitude towards Mr Kushal Chand Sacheti, CEO of

Galaxy, a philanthropist and also an alumnus of IIT Kanpur for providing his

generous financial support which helped in completion of this project.

We extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Barun Mitra of Liberty Institute, Professor J.

Rajkumar and Dr. Kumar Ravipriya of IIT Kanpur.

We are obliged to all the members of the team who made this project possible

with their sincere efforts. We thank Anurag Srivastava, Varsha Jha, Tathagata

Acharya, Piyush Belchandan, Bharat Lal, Ketki Saraswat and Ram Kumar Sharma.

A special thanks goes to Mr. Ajay Kanojia for providing general help.

We are also deeply grateful to Dr, Surajit Sinha, Head of HSS Department, IIT

Kanpur, Dr. Prabhat Munshi, former Dean of Resources and Alimni, IIT Kanpur,

Dr. B.V. Phani, Dean of Resources and Alumni, IIT Kanpur, Dr. R.K. Sachan,

Officer-in-charge, Dean of Research and Development office, IIT Kanpur and Mr.

Anil P. Gonade, Assistant Registrar, Dean of Research and Development office, IIT

Kanpur.

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Executive Summary

The project was a qualitative investigation to understand the myriad aspects of

jugaad which is a colloquial Hindi word meaning an innovative trick or a

makeshift and temporary solution to an existing problem. Jugaad products and

processes are widely prevalent in the Indian society, spanning from the rural to

the metropolitan areas. To understand this all-pervasive nature of jugaad

products in India, the research focused on exploring the need for jugaad,

evaluating the social acceptance of jugaad and identifying different areas of

intervention.

The two main areas in which jugaad is widespread are the transport and

agricultural sectors. The project undertook case studies of these two sectors

which are also directly related to the needs of the deprived sections of the

society. The initial stages of the research brought out the basic difference

between innovation and jugaad. It was found that while the products and

services developed by the means of jugaad and innovation are substantially

different, the motivation behind coming up with the product is somewhat

different as well and it is this difference in motivation that marks the most basic

difference in the products. jugaad solutions are assemblies of parts borrowed

from machines that already exist. Most jugaad solutions are not always the best

solutions. There is very little original innovation in the jugaad process. Jugaad

products are rather unsafe, inefficient, unaesthetically designed and even illegal.

But in spite of these serious flaws they are almost inessential to many people

around the world. Nations are classified as ‘developed’ and ‘developing’

depending on the wealth of the population and the living standards. Developing

nations given their restrictions in terms of access to state-of-the-art technology,

an ever-increasing population, unemployment etc. are always looking at

achieving their objectives in a manner that is less stressful on their pockets. They

know that new technologies exist, but they do not have access to them, usually

because of the added financial burdens. What they have access to though are

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the leftovers of the ‘Developed Society’, the garbage and specifically

technological garbage disposed of by them. It is in such societies that jugaad

thrives. For obvious reasons users of jugaad products and services see it as a

cheap alternative and accept it at the cost of safety, long-term economic

benefits, and so forth.

From a psychological perspective both creativity and innovation are integral part

of the process of developing a juggad product. The deeply felt need for a product

based solution is driven by the knowledge that one has pertaining to the

functioning of a product. The imagination of the person further helps visualize

the possible combinations and alternatives. Mixed with risk taking, the

evaluation of the final product finally leads to a jugaad driven product. The

compelling socio-economic needs are mitigated by few creative people who have

the ability to metacognize the existing working ideas. They come forward with

new ways of looking at the problem. This represents creativity. When this

creative solution is recognized as ‘solution to the problem’ by people and the

solution positively affects their lives it becomes innovation. The attitude of

people is another psychological factor that sustains jugaad products in the

society. People adopt attitude that serve their self-interest. Thus, it is the

utilitarian function based on which one chooses attitude that either reward them

or help them avoid punishment. This explains why people indulge in developing

jugaad products. Our value system plays a significant role in providing framework

to the knowledge that we have and attitude helps fit things together so that one

is ultimately able to make sense. Attitudes are also instrumental in protecting

self-esteem of a person in a frustrating situation, thus ensuring the subjective

well-being of the person concerned. They play an important role in making a

person express his/her core beliefs. In turn, these expressions help them

establish their identity in the society and seek social approval. This explains how

one does not revisit safety and intellectual property right issues and keeps on

using a jugaad product. Socio-economic compulsions fuel the need for a

product/service or its alternative. This need triggers creative thought thus

making the person recombine hidden connections in an already existing product.

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Once the society accepts this as an improvised low cost alternative, it is

recognized as an innovative solution. This results in jugaad. Favourable attitude

helps maintain this new alternative with positive bias.

After doing field visits and interviewing different innovators and end users of

Jugaad it became clear that the main motivation factor behind jugaad is

economic consideration. In simple words, it is the lack of financial support that

forces people to opt for jugaad. Jugaad is therefore propelled by a fix-it attitude

that creates a just-in time solution, to solve a problem. The project studied

various jugaad vehicles used in the transport system. Many agricultural

alternatives used by farmers were also studied closely. The innovators’ as well as

the users’ viewpoints were recorded. The factors which come in the way of

logical advancement of these products came to light through these case studies.

There are many issues regarding the inefficiency of jugaad that were identified

during the field visits. In the process of coming up with a machine that might

serve the purpose for the moment with little investment, that might feed the

population for a while, the jugaad mechanic makes a compromise on the

efficiency front. He also makes compromises on the longevity front, as when

used in such inappropriate manners, the machines tend to fall apart sooner than

they should. This approach also ends up making the jugaad products not just

dangerous but also fatal. But here it must also be mentioned that while working

on this project many of the jugaad alternatives seemed to have a much longer

life, especially in the agriculture sector. Jugaad uses existing designs illegally. In a

market where intellectual property rights do not exist there are little incentives

to invest heavily in research, and hence little scope for progress exists in terms of

innovation. Lack of patenting also impacts the economic viability of the jugaad

products. Most of the people that were interviewed had ingeniously designed

either a vehicle or a tool used in farming. But they were mostly ignorant about

patenting.

Exploring the need for jugaad and identifying the problems associated

with jugaad products and processes have helped in realizing the

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importance of jugaad in the lives of some sections of the society and also

in understanding the breadth and significance of the problems that Jugaad

products pose or themselves face. In the course of the research, it was

noted that various low-cost indigenous solutions or ‘jugaad’ are put in use

to solve small issues. While these jugaad products are functional, the

solutions are not fully effective. Nevertheless, people find jugaad helpful

in their day to day lives. The power of jugaad is amplified in the rural areas

as the resources are scarcer but needs more pressing there. The project

paves way for further study into specific problem areas to provide

solutions that will be effective and help improve the experience of jugaad

end users. A workshop was conducted as a part of this project which

aimed at the development of new designs by students to provide a cost

efficient solution related to jugaad that would help in improving an

existing jugaad product or idea. Efforts should be made to make the

jugaad products available in the markets at low prices.

The project used quantitative as well as qualitative approach to understand the

various aspects of jugaad. Data was collected mainly from Uttar Pradesh using

the fieldwork method. A semi-structured interview method was used to elicit

detailed response from selected innovators and end users of jugaad. Also, case

studies of the transport and agricultural sectors were undertaken as these are

the two main areas where jugaad is widespread.

The study was conducted in four phases. Phase I involved data gathering for

secondary material, preparation of questionnaire for primary data collection and

hiring of project staff. Collecting primary data and field visits followed next. In

phase III a workshop was held, field visits were continued and preliminary

analysis was done. Phase IV involved final analysis and report writing.

The project has delivered the following:

1. A comprehensive project report

2. Videos and photographs

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3. Report of a workshop (included in the Report)

It is proposed that a manuscript for a book will be prepared on the basis of the

report and the photographs. It is also proposed to launch a website on jugaad.

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Chapter 1

Introduction: The Project

The use of jugaad is commonplace in India. It means finding a workaround for a

problem for which regular or inexpensive solution is not available. Jugaad is a

colloquial Hindi word that roughly translates as an improvised quick-fix for a

problem for which standard and/or affordable solution is not available in the

market and society. Jugaad also refers to products that are used for purposes for

which these are not inherently designed. The best example of jugaad is the

eponymous vehicle plying ubiquitously in rural North India: a diesel engine,

typically used as a pump set for irrigation, fixed on a cart to create a rudimentary

means of motorized transport.

Jugaad, like any innovation, can be classified in two categories: a) Product

oriented, and b) Process oriented. Examples of product oriented jugaad are the

Jugaad Vehicle, and Mitticool Refrigerator; and examples of process oriented

jugaad are using washing machines for making lassi, a blended yogurt drink, and

using pressure cooker to generate steam for making Espresso coffee.

Over the period, the meaning of juggad has evolved from finding a workaround

to also mean “frugal innovation.” Frugal innovation means coming up with

affordable products and services, especially but not limited to the low-income

populace. The aim of frugal innovation is to serve people without compromising

the safety, efficiency, and utility of the products. However, jugaad products,

usually lack basic safety features, and are characterized by shoddy design

features.

Jugaad products and processes are pervasive in all walks of life in the Indian

society. It can be seen spanning from the rural to the metropolitan areas.

However, our hypothesis is that such innovations are seen to a greater degree in

rural and semi urban areas that do not have access to standardized products.

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Our contention is that jugaad is invariably an outcome of specific needs; it uses

locally sourced produce or products; and is invariably designed taking into

consideration economic constraints.

Not all aspects of jugaad are positive: there is evidence of negative usage of

jugaad which compromises the health and safety of the users. The use of

additional trolley in ferry service that mostly carries the daily workforce to urban

centres from neighbouring areas is one such example that blatantly disregards all

safety considerations. There are several other examples from the world of small

scale industries to large scale industrial products where inadequately tested

equipments are used that have long term health implications for the workers as

well as the end users.

Research Questions

To understand the wide prevalence of jugaad products in Indian Society, one

needs to investigate three aspects. First, what was the need for the product or

process to be modified? Second, what are the results of such usage? And third,

what is the extent of its acceptability, both in social and economic terms?

1. Exploring the need for jugaad

Economic need: It is the economic consideration that initially propels

jugaad, however, this is also the cause that restrains its advancement to

its logical end. The role of economic need in the different stages of the

product cycle of selected jugaad products will be studied in detail.

Attitudinal factors: What attitudinal factors are conducive or detrimental

for the creation of jugaad?

Creative urge: To what extent is jugaad a manifestation of the creative

urge? Why are jugaad products badly designed?

2. Evaluating the social acceptance of jugaad

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Social acceptability: Since the use of jugaad is typically confined to a

social and cultural context and its success depends on these factors, it is

important to evaluate the social acceptance of jugaad in terms of

sociological categories such as caste, class and region.

Legal aspects: The study will explore any domestic legal issues that hinder

the growth of jugaad and their relation to various questions pertaining to

intellectual property rights.

Relation to market: The question essentially revolves around the

assertion that jugaad products are either not geared for the market or

not successful in the market.

3. Identifying areas of intervention

Safety features: Some jugaad products are not only dangerous but can

also be fatal. For example, jugaad vehicles are quite regularly prone to

accidents.

Design features: Jugaad products are functional in nature and hardly ever

give any consideration to design and aesthetics.

Legal acceptability: For want of legal expertise, several of jugaad products

that have the potential to be patented go unrecognized and unrewarded

Economic viability: For lack of financial assistance or credit, many jugaad

products die without achieving their full potential. The lack of patenting

also impacts the economic viability of the jugaad products.

In particular, the project has undertaken case studies of the transport and

agricultural sectors. These are the two main areas in which jugaad is widespread.

These also relate directly to the needs of the underprivileged sections of the

society.

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Chapter 2

An Overview of the Report

This chapter is an overview of the Report. It summarizes the contents of the

chapters.

Chapter 1: Introduction

The very first chapter of the report introduces the project giving a brief insight

into its purpose and aim. It also explains the meaning and concept of jugaad and

discusses the research questions that needed to be answered to understand the

various aspects of jugaad. The chapter introduces the three tasks that had been

undertaken to make this project a success --- exploring the need for jugaad,

evaluating the social acceptance of Jugaad and identifying the areas of

intervention.

Chapter 2: An Overview of the Report

This chapter summarises the contents of all the ten chapters in the report. Each

chapter has been briefly summarised to acquaint the reader with the aim and

purpose of the project, concise analysis and main conclusions without having to

read the entire report

Chapter 3: The Concept and Its Limitations

This chapter at first gives us an idea about the origin and meaning of the word

jugaad. It then goes on to explain the concept of Jugaad and gives us the broader

definition of jugaad which to get the job done in the simplest possible manner at

a lesser cost both capital as well as human. What jugaad aims to achieve is to

solve problems of the marginalized sections of the society at low costs and

create employment opportunities for them. The chapter also reveals that jugaad,

is not just an arbitrary phenomenon anymore. It has developed into a corporate

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strategy to reduce input costs as well as foster creative processes at all levels of

the corporation. Realizing the need to cut down on resources while at the same

time achieving more from them has led breakthrough innovators to not only

challenge but even defeat some of their more traditional counterparts.

Companies both large as well as small are now taking the plunge in trying to

achieve more from less. The chapter ends by pointing out the limitations of the

jugaad products and processes. Jugaad products, usually lack basic safety

features, and are characterized by shoddy design features. They are largely

untested in the organizational setting and are not resource and development

centric. There are lots of issues regarding the inefficiency of the jugaad process.

Chapter 4: Jugaad and Innovation

Jugaad and innovation are two words which are used in the same vein today but

have slightly different meanings. This chapter deals with the distinction between

these two words and their meanings. Since each word represents a process, an

attempt has been made to compare and contrast the processes and the output

of each process. Innovation is the act of introducing new ideas, devices or

methods, which never existed before, to solve a problem. Jugaad on the other

hand is finding a low-cost solution to any problem in an intelligent way. It is a

new way of thinking constructively and differently about innovation and

strategy. What an innovator does in jugaad is to combine existing parts to serve

the purpose at hand and more often than not, the innovation and cleverness is in

the ingenuous assembly of the parts. Innovation is anything that changes the

existing order, though it may turn out to be disastrous for Mother Nature if not

for humans. Nevertheless innovation enhances technology and serves the

purpose of progress unlike jugaad which seeks to find a temporary solution

derived from existing technological solutions. Most jugaad solutions are unsafe,

inefficient and even illegal at times. A developed society which has access to

latest technologies can easily tap into their financial and physical resources when

faced with an engineering problem. But jugaad thrives in environments which

are harsh, politically and economically unstable with poor infrastructure and

have inadequate access to finance and skilled human resources. In such a

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society, one solves problems using the jugaad techniques knowing well that a

similar problem has already been solved in a developed society using techniques

which they cannot afford. Hence there is very little innovation in the jugaad

process. Also, in the process of coming up with a machine that might serve the

purpose for the moment, the jugaad process makes unnecessary compromises in

the efficiency and ecological aspects. Jugaad, as opposed to innovation, is

pseudo-original problem solving. The motivation behind the products and

services developed by means of jugaad and innovation is also different. The

products developed by the innovation method are targeted at the upper strata

of the society that can afford them. These products are designed and developed

with specific goals in mind the completion of which is ensured by extensive

research so that specific demands like efficiency, environment friendliness and

aesthetic appeal are met. On the contrary, jugaad solutions are not designed to

please the customers. They are meant to get the job done and are hence

inefficient and lacking in environment friendliness and aesthetic appeal.

Chapter 5: Creativity and Innovation: A Psychological Perspective

This chapter tries to establish that “Innovation is creativity with a job to do.”

Both creativity and innovation are functions of knowledge, curiosity, imagination

and evaluation. Both are an integral part of the final execution of any product.

Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives,

or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with

others, and entertaining ourselves and others. In order to be creative, one needs

to be able to view things in new ways or from a different perspective. Innovation

is the ability to find a better way of doing things. It is something original.

Innovation is applying ideas to create valuable results where it matters. A close

investigation into the relationship between Creativity and Innovation reveals that

Creativity is essential for innovation. A product must exist at least in a concept

stage for one cannot innovate anything that does not exist. Thus innovation

depends on creativity. While creativity is not dependent on innovation, better

success of creativity does depend on innovation. From a business perspective,

the main difference between creativity and innovation is the focus. Creativity is

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subjective, making it difficult to measure whereas innovation is completely

measurable. Innovation is a product of the creative mind. If one has a

brainstorming session and dreams up dozens of new ideas, it can be called

display of creativity. But there is no innovation until something gets

implemented. Somebody has to take a risk and deliver something for a creative

idea to be turned into an innovation. The role of innovation and creativity in

manufacturing is very important. All successful companies stimulate creativity

and innovation in all their employees since they are well aware of the potential

of every individual. Implementing a culture of innovation in the companies is the

need of the hour.

Chapter 6: Jugaad Captured on Films

The chapter studies in detail the various jugaad products that have been filmed.

They are mainly in use in the rural areas of India. Most of these acts of jugaad

happen because people cannot afford better alternatives, lack access to

applicable products and exist in a market that just doesn’t understand their

needs. The contraptions that have been discussed here include jugaad vehicles

that pass as public transport in rural India, products used in farming and also

equipments which help in solving everyday issues and make lives better in spite

of badly designed and unsafe at times.

Chapter 7: Agricultural Alternatives

The chapter is based on the audio recordings of interviews with different farmers

who have shared their experiences of following different jugaad processes and

using jugaad products that make a farmer’s work a little easier.

Chapter 8: Jugaad Workshop

The chapter presents detailed reports prepared by three different teams as part

of a workshop conducted to design low cost solutions related to Jugaad that

would help develop existing jugaad products in an ingenious way and make lives

simpler. The three teams comprised students from KTH, Aalto University and

IITK. Each of the teams selected an innovation from videos of 15 different jugaad

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products made by the local people of Kanpur. They paid field visits to get a better

idea about the product they had chosen and worked on it to improve the

product and provide a solution to help overcome the drawbacks it had. Each of

the reports gives a detailed idea with the help of images about the need for the

product, how it works, its problems and the new version that every team came

up with to help solve the problems.

Chapter 9: Bus Transport System: A Case Study on Kanpur

Public bus transport is extremely vital for India, even more so, with the growing

economy and rising population. This chapter brings to fore the plight of bus

drivers and the issues faced by them. It is based on a research conducted in

Kanpur city which was aimed at trying to empathize and understand the

problems faced by the bus drivers in Kanpur. The field study also highlights the

use of ‘jugaad’ as means of construction to cut down costs and also to create

innovative solutions to problems faced. The chapter documents a few ‘jugaad’

creations being used at a systemic level in the case of bus construction.

Chapter 10: Conclusion

The concluding chapter establishes the importance of jugaad and the reason for

its prevalence in all aspects of life after. It also explains how the project paves

way for further study into specific problem areas to provide solutions that will be

effective and help improve the experience of jugaad end users.

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Chapter 3

The Concept and Its Limitations

From a colloquial Hindi word meaning an innovative fix or a simple work-around,

jugaad, has today come to be known as a synonym for innovation. Jugaad, in

more simple terms, can be termed as, a unique way of thinking and acting in

response to challenges; of spotting opportunities in adverse circumstances and

resourcefully improvising solutions using simple means. Jugaad is essentially

about doing more with less.

But though they are used in the same vein, there are slight differences to how

we have traditionally defined innovation and jugaad. Innovation is traditionally

defined, as a more structured pathway to the application of better solutions that

meet new requirements. Following the Industrial Revolution, Innovation has

sadly been the discourse of the developed nations having assumed a more

structured and top-down approach when placed in an organizational setting. On

the other end of the spectrum however, jugaad given its more organic nature of

origin has found a more suitable home in developing nations, struggling to

achieve the heights of their more esteemed compatriots. Jugaad more often

than not, comes through more so at the grassroots level than any other. Seeking

a more bottom-to-top approach jugaad has found many takers among the

working class, trying to find more simple yet effective solutions to perennial

problems.

Developing nations given their restrictions in terms of access to state-of-the-art

technology, an ever-increasing population, unemployment etc. are always

looking at achieving their objectives in a manner that is less stressful on their

pockets. Having resourcefulness come to the fore, jugaad is today not just a

26

means to an end but has become a mentality that the Western Model of

Structured Innovation is just taking notice of.

But the problem that jugaad faces is not the lack of structure but of recognition

instead. In developing nations such as ours, people are always finding new ways

to do the same chores but it’s a very small number that actually understands its

innovative nature and the need for it to be patented. As much as it is difficult to

identify as well as classify jugaad, due to its organic nature, the structure of

patenting, in developing nations like India, has tended to stifle creativity in the

bud and the concept of Jugaad is as we know it, has not yet seen the light of day.

From another word to a mindset, jugaad has come a long way. And now, it is

time, that the world begins to take notice of this simple yet very effective

concept, for it is not just us but the entire world who can benefit from this very

concept.

This chapter seeks not only to define the concept of jugaad, but also goes a step

further by taking a closer look at the restrictions it faces and the next step

forward.

Jugaad: The Concept

Etymologically derived from Punjabi, it is said that the history of the term goes

back to a day when a few people in Punjab decided to mount a diesel engine on

a steel frame with wheels; and thus the first jugaad was born. The word has

come to mean grassroots innovation ever since.

It is a difficult endeavour if one is actually trying to bring shape to the term

jugaad, simply because of the fact that there exists no all-conforming definition

that encompasses all forms of jugaad present in the world today or even the

large number of possibilities. Broadly speaking, jugaad essentially means to

deliver more value at a lesser input cost, i.e. to get the job done in the simplest

possible manner at a lesser cost both capital as well as human.

27

Figure 3.1: Dimensions of jugaad

The book Jugaad Innovation states as one of the most important principles of

jugaad is to “include the margin”. What they effectively mean is that whereas

most innovation experts are targeting mainstream customers, jugaad seeks to

include those in the marginalized sections, and bring them into the mainstream

arena. This not only helps as a means to achieve the objective of solving the

problem but also create more employment opportunities for the society at large.

Innovation vs. Jugaad

The 19th century was probably the most productive timeline for Science and

Technology as a whole to prosper. The Industrial Revolution was at its peak and

inventions of all forms were breaking out of the closet. This was the time when

jugaad was a big part of Western Innovation and jugaad-style innovators were in

vogue. Somehow over the years, the more organic nature of ideation gave way

to a more structured, more layered approach to Innovation.

There are three primary drawbacks associated with the present Structured

Innovation Model pursued in the Western world as stated in Jugaad Innovation.

The Structured Approach is Too Expensive and Resource Consuming

The Western Model of Innovation is modelled such that it is a capital intensive

industry prototype. It functions on the principle of greater input will lead to

greater output. The approach thus requires a huge inflow of Capital as well as

Labour and other resource inputs, all of which are in very short supply at

present. From an economic standpoint, this leads to a condition of acute scarcity

Problem

ComplexityCompetition

Resource Scarcity

Globalisation

JUGAAD

Cost EffectiveSimple

EfficientScalable

28

which in turn requires efficient planning techniques and schemas. Resulting in a

greater disparity of wealth across nations, a capital heavy innovation model is

not only bad news for LDCs but also for the Developed nations as they too have

to face the brunt of the setback.

One of the more well- known examples is the rise of Toyota in the US automobile

market which has thus resulted in a steady decline in market share for Ford,

General Motors and Chrysler- from 70% in 1988 to 44.2% in 2009.

The Structured Approach Lacks Flexibility

Being such a capital intensive setup, the Western Innovation model has allowed

itself to become risk averse to their approach to innovation. The implementation

of ‘The Six Sigma’ technique to innovation is proof of the rigidity present in the

system today. Such techniques were initiated with the purpose of reducing

operational uncertainty, but in the process it has slowed down the process, while

at the same time drastically reduced the ability to deliver on product

differentiation.

The Six Sigma is an integrated set of management techniques aimed at increasing

operational efficiency. Initially pioneered by Motorola in 1986 the Sigma Six has

gone on to become the preferred corporate dogma of many Fortune 500

companies such as GE and Boeing. Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of

process outputs by identifying and eliminating the causes for errors and also

minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of

quality management methods, including statistical methods, creating a special

infrastructure of people within the organization who are experts in these very

methods.

29

The Structured Approach is Elitist and Insular

With increasing levels of volatility flooding the market it is as important to

commercialize your product as it is to produce it. The prospect of coming up with

products with a pertinent market base is now not only limited to top scientists

and innovators. The commercialization of Intellectual property has also resulted

in establishing the market for not only tangible, but also for non-tangible product

assets. The rise of this Bottom to Top Approach to Innovation seems to have

taken a step back to the days of old having shifted the power from the elite

companies to the people again. Jugaad has thus again become the preferred

approach to Innovative breakthroughs.

Finally, the structured approach to innovation has become too rigid, expansive

and insular. Consuming a lot of resources for little or no significant output, it has

resulted in firms crippling in the wake of market downturns while the market

itself seeks to turn things around and grow.

Jugaad: The Strategy

With greater amounts of volatility plaguing the market today, more so than ever,

companies both large as well as midcap have had to seriously review their

strategies. Innovation has become a very important aspect to product

manufacturing. With several companies, bringing in the same technologies to the

table and adding up to the number of perfect substitutes, present in the market

the companies leading the charge towards growth are the ones who have dared

to break the fourth wall.

Product Differentiation suddenly becomes the most important strategic aspect

to growth and long term stability in the market. We suddenly see a larger influx

of capital into the R&D sector by companies looking to go one up on themselves.

Unfortunately, one of the major drawbacks of this idea has been the

manufacturing of over engineered products, flooding the market. This has

30

resulted in greater dependence on capital and labour resources crippling the

ones already under the burden of ineffective allocation and resource scarcity.

Jugaad, is hence not just an arbitrary phenomenon but has developed into a

corporate strategy to reduce input costs as well as foster creative processes at all

levels of the corporation. Realizing the need to cut down on resources while at

the same time achieving more from them has led breakthrough innovators to not

only challenge but even defeat some of their more traditional counterparts.

Companies both large as well as small are now taking the plunge in trying to

achieve more from less.

Limitations of Jugaad

Although jugaad in its entirety has great benefits to offer as far as Growth

economics is concerned, it is not short of its own limitations. Some of which are

discussed below.

Largely Untested in the Organizational Setting

Jugaad is more of an individual response to a problem. It is largely untested in

the organizational setting and critics have had their reservations regarding its

workability in the workspace. Jugaad arises out of ad hoc behind the scenes

processes and thus when placed in an organizational setting, it does not come

across as very appealing. Given that organizations have a structured approach to

functioning, jugaad innovations tend to take a backseat and the organic

environment that it desperately needs is stifled out.

Jugaad is an Idiosyncratic Response to a Problem

Jugaad is by definition an individual response to a problem. It is not a team

activity by any means and this is where there arises a problem. To effectively

harness the best of jugaad, companies would need to be structured to allow

individuals to provide idiosyncratic solutions to problems without being

constrained by approvals and processes. This is not the way that organizations

31

typically function. And while this may work at the grassroots levels, it needs a

different structure and system to be viable at the organization scale.

Quick Response Solutions to Problems

Jugaad innovators are at their best when confronted with a problem that needs

immediate, quick improvisation. The basic premise seems to be that jugaad in no

way could worsen the situation one is presently in. It might make things better

but definitely not worse. Jugaad is propelled by a fix-it attitude that creates a

just-in-time solution, to solve a tightly bound problem- it is not a strategically

tailored innovation conceived to develop an open-ended opportunity.

No Design Element or Risk Undertaken

Jugaad innovations are not born out of research of any kind or from technical

nuance- from identifying lacunae in customer needs or a eureka moment in the

laboratory- it is in fact a quick-fix cobbled together without a scientific approach.

This is specifically the reason for the lack of scalability when it comes to jugaad

innovations.

Not R&D Centric

Jugaad innovations are in no sense spurred by research. They are not envisioned

as a completely different application of a said theory but as a corollary to

something already in existence. Research requires one to visualize things which

typically do not exist. It requires comfort with ambiguity and risk- taking a leap

into the unknown. Development on the other hand, is what happens when

output parameters are bounded. One knows the targets that need to be

achieved- one is only concerned with how to achieve it.

A Quantitative Approach to Jugaad

In this section, we are essentially trying to quantify ‘jugaad’, using an integrated

model inspired from the concepts of Principal Component Analysis(PCA) and

32

seismic-inspired models. The primary reason for choosing such a model, was to

sensitize it across all parameters chosen an to be able to grade or rank it in

accordance to a standard, so as to be able to achieve a forecasting and

prospecting ability in the field of jugaad.

The Principal Component Analysis Model

The PCA Model is one that seeks to sensitize data across parameters over a

specific time horizon. We achieve this by assigning weights to the parameters

concerned, which might change across certain time equivalents.

Dependent variable= Profits (P)

Independent variables/Parameters= Risk Associated (R)

Customer Base Identification (A)

Scalability Costs (C)

Note: All parameters are in dimensionless percentages achieved via

(Amount of parameter in product/Amount of parameter in company

investments overall)

We propose to use the Cobb-Douglas Model for this purpose.

𝐼𝐼 = 𝐴𝐴𝐵𝐵1 ∗ 𝑃𝑃𝐵𝐵2 ∗ 𝑀𝑀𝐵𝐵3

Where 𝐵𝐵1, 𝐵𝐵2 and 𝐵𝐵3 are the specific weightages attached.

Reasons: (i) The multiplicative form is more flexible.

(ii) It allows for non-linear responses.

33

The Calculation

From the raw data present we calculate mean and subtract it from all data points

associated for a particular parameter.

Then from the new refined (mean subtracted) data we calculate standard

deviation (𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 = 1𝑛𝑛

(∑(𝑥𝑥𝑖𝑖 − 𝑥)2

12

After having done this for all the three parameters concerned, we find their

covariance between themselves and other parameters (AA, AP, AM, PP, PM,

MM)

𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶(𝑋𝑋,𝑌𝑌) =1𝑛𝑛(𝑥𝑥𝑖𝑖 − 𝑥)(𝑦𝑦𝑖𝑖 − 𝑦𝑦)

From these obtained covariance values, we calculate correlation values among

the same variables (AA, AP, AM, PP, PM, MM)

𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶(𝑋𝑋,𝑌𝑌) =𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶(𝑋𝑋,𝑌𝑌)

𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆(𝑋𝑋)𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆(𝑌𝑌)

Assigning these values to form Correlation Matrix (𝑛𝑛2); n=no. of parameters

n=3 in this case

We calculate the eigenvectors and the eigenvalues associated with each

parameter and assigned the lowest eigenvalues as weightages to the parameters

with the highest covariance among itself (RR, AA, CC).

The Seismic Model

The Seismic Model first determines a standard value of the parameters by

calculating the mean. The impact of each of the values is measured as the

logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of these values to the standard value as we

34

believe using weightages as given above, the parameters will increase

exponentially.

The logarithmic function being slowly growing would also give us a workable

dimensionless index to insert into our model.

I = log( 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖0

)

The model thus gives a specific number as the output which helps us to grade or

rank products according to their degree of innovation. The idea is to be able to

separate or filter product ideas and prototype designs into high, intermediate

and low fields. These fields not only provide an insight into the degree of

innovation put into the product but also to judge the profitability that might be

achieved with the product upon realization.

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Chapter 4

Jugaad and Innovation

Words have a way of fooling us; moreover we have a way of fooling each other

with words. Usually this happens when the words that are used colloquially in

the common verbatim have different meanings all together. Jugaad and

innovation are two such words. While hoping not to belittle either of them, we

must try to look at the differences between the two. This chapter deals with the

distinction between these two words and their meanings. Since each word

represents a process we will try to compare and contrast the processes and the

output of the process.

Defining Innovation

Innovation is the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices or methods to

solve a problem; coming up with things that were not there before. Wheel was

an innovation, the most significant of all, may be. Airplane was innovation, anti-

septic was innovation. The new algorithm to crack the cipher text was

innovation. Innovation is the hallmark of human development. History stands

evidence to the fact that the cultures and societies that have promoted and

supported innovation have ruled over those that have not. The sextant and

similar navigation equipments used by the British ship merchants of 19th century

were innovation. Anything that changes the existing order is innovation. It need

not always be for the good, but good in itself is a relative term. Most innovations

that have been good for the humans have been utterly disastrous for the Mother

Nature. The innovations that turned out to be good for the allied forces proved

to be catastrophic for the Nazis. Incidentally war has been one of the major

promoters of innovation. But innovation enhances technology and serves the

36

purpose of progress. If we can claim of rising living standards, the standards are

being set by comfortable and productive living being ensured by innovation.

Innovation helps us live better lives.

When it comes to development of product or technology to solve an existing

social or technological (or military issue for that matter) issue, we would propose

the word be used in a rather restricted sense. To put it plainly, for the course of

this book, innovation is coming up with something new, original. Do the research

required, perform the experiments necessary and hopefully come up with a

marketable product. We need to keep in mind the original and novel part

included in the definition of innovation for construing a better contrast between

jugaad and innovation. If the picture of a lab rat in a white lab coat performing

experiments comes to mind, the reader is partly on the right track. But this track

also leads to a plethora of researchers, all trying to expand the boundaries of

human knowledge, shine light on some of the dark voids that ignorance has left

behind. Innovation invariably adds something to the pool of human knowledge,

something that was not there before.

Defining Jugaad

Jugaad as compared to innovation is different. The phrase ‘necessity is the

mother of invention’ applies more closely to jugaad. Jugaad is an innovative trick

or a solution to an existing problem. The solution thus sought is most probably

makeshift and temporary and derived from existing technological solutions.

Jugaad solutions are assemblies of parts borrowed from machines that already

exist. In recent times, jugaad solutions to critical problems of basic amenities in

rural India and sub-Saharan Africa have been in the limelight. In this context

especially, jugaad means using whatever one has to solve the problem at hand. If

a kid in Kenya uses motorcycle indicator lights to make fence lighting to ward off

lions that prey on his livestock, then this is a jugaad solution. If one makes a

makeshift irrigation system from blower pump used for furnaces in rural India, it

37

is a jugaad solution. We will consider such examples from rural India in the

Indian context in the present work.

But when such solutions are being used in some parts of the world and are

applauded or criticized in some other, one must ponder over the fact that they

exist at all! Most jugaad solutions are indubitably not the best solutions. They are

unsafe, aesthetically improper, and inefficient and sometimes illegal even, but

even after all these serious flaws that they suffer from, they are almost

inessential to many people around the world. In such a scenario, one must ask,

one must look further into not just the solutions and contraptions being used,

but also at the people using them. For it is not just in the machines, but also in

the humans using them that some answers may lie.

Where Does Jugaad Thrive?

Most of us are familiar with the contemporary definitions of developed and

developing nations. These classifications and structuring has been done

depending upon the wealth of the population and the living standards. Let us

make a different set of classification here, let us restructure the societies, and

not nations, as even within a nation considerable in-homogeneity exists. Let us

call the part of the society that has access to the latest technology and latest

innovations as ‘Developed Society’. This part of the nation, this group of the

population, is obviously able to access and afford the new technologies. Hence

when faced with a problem, an engineering problem, which has to be solved in

order to address an existing social issue, this society can tap into their financial

and physical resources and solve the problem in the classical way, via research

and innovation. For example when they have to address the issues of public

transport, they will go to someone like Mercedes or Tata and get a bus made.

When they have to address the issue of irrigation in fields, they will have

company made irrigation systems, pumps specifically designed for the purpose

of irrigation. It is not hard to come up with examples of such societies. Most of

the developed western world would come under this ‘Developed Society’ class.

38

Consider the case when a farmer in the USA wants to expand the irrigation on his

fields or when he wants to cut the crops on standing ripe on his farm. A farmer in

such a society will go in the free market, probably use the subsidies provided by

the government and buy the equipment he needs, not much problem solving on

the end of farmers is done in such a case. Even within the developing nations it is

not hard to find niches that have easy access to such technologies, consider the

farmers and cultivators in crop intensive states such as Punjab. Here too, the

farmers have access to latest, and if not latest then usable, technologies that

reduce the labour and hence the burden.

The other society that we consider lives on the outskirts of this ‘Developed

Society’, where the technological advances are apparent to the members, i.e.

they know that such things exist, but they do not have access to them, usually

because of the added financial burdens. What they have access to though are

the leftovers of the ‘Developed Society’, the garbage and specifically

technological garbage disposed of by them. It is in such societies that jugaad

thrives.

Even though these societies are, in some sense, resource-less, they still face the

problem most of the societies face. And being poor and underprivileged, these

problems are even more pronounced. Problems of transport, sanitation, storage,

agriculture and healthcare are some of the most prominent ones, asking for

immediate assistance. It must be kept in mind that the problems jugaad tries to

solve have already been solved in the ‘Developed Societies’. But although the

answers to these problems exist, they are inaccessible and expensive for such

societies. In such a case, the problem solving is done using methods that are not

strictly speaking, textbook specified. We shall see some of these methods and

their apparent solutions.

The ‘Developing Societies’ that we mention here are not too hard to locate

either. Although we shall try to provide the geographic locations with the

examples we cite, such a pinpointing is not absolutely necessary. Mostly the

places that have limited access and negligence from the governance qualify for

39

jugaad innovation breeding grounds. India and sub-Saharan Africa thus, appears

to be ideal breeding grounds for such techniques and machines.

Problem Solving

Innovation to some extent is a head on battle, between the problem and the

problem solver. Let us look at it from a mechanical engineer’s perspective. Let us

say we need to design a transport vehicle for people, or cattle for that matter.

People need to go from one place to the next and as the free market operates,

where there is the possibility of providing a service, the service will be provided.

The expectations from and the specifications of the vehicle are given to us. So we

look at the dimensions, the specifications and try to come up with a design. We,

from the scratch, design and build the individual components -- a chassis, an

engine, a power transmission system, a steering and braking system and the rest.

The design is ours and ours alone, of all the members in the team, there are no

borrowed parts. The analysis on each part has been done separately, and

hopefully exhaustively. Hence the product we build is ours, ours to own, ours to

sell, and if we are of the mindset, ours to boast of.

Based on this model of problem solving, we have entire institutions that are

doing the problem solving. The machine building industry has been providing

humans with excellent machines to work with for a long time now. We have

huge industries earning huge profits that supply to the demand of the people.

These industries have functioning Research and Development departments that

try to solve new problems that are present in the present or that might appear in

the future.

But jugaad doesn’t work that way. In jugaad one doesn’t do that. Let us try to see

how one solves the given problem using the jugaad techniques, given the

problem, or a similar problem has already been solved elsewhere. And this last

part mentioned here that, ‘the problem, or a similar problem has already been

solved elsewhere’, is essential as we shall see.

40

In jugaad we try to look at the existing, accessible solutions in random fields and

try to see if they can serve the purpose we want them to serve. For instance in

the above example, if we need an engine, we will not design it, we will look at

existing power producing devices and see if they can be used. For a bus engine, if

a bike engine or something as remote as irrigation pump engine can be used, we

use it. The thing we design would not be called a bus indeed, it would be

something else, but it must serve the purpose a bus serves, of transporting

people from one place to the next. Now when the transportation is the major

concern, secondary concerns might not be so strongly addressed, such as safety

and environment friendly. Jugaad thus, as opposed to innovation, is pseudo-

original problem solving. It is pseudo-original in the sense that, while the

approach to and solution of assembly of parts is considered, it is original and

innovative. But it is only thus far that the originality extends. The parts that are

being assembled are not designed but borrowed. But as we shall see later, one

must not judge them too harshly on this matter.

Motivational Difference

While the products and services developed by the means of jugaad and

innovation are substantially different, one must notice and appreciate that the

motivation behind coming up with the product is somewhat different as well and

it is this difference in the motivation that marks the most basic difference in the

products. Of course the market forces of demand and supply govern and in some

cases dictate both the processes to some extent or the other; the actual and

more significant factors play a major role as well. Though we will talk about these

factors in detail in the coming chapters, we will try to appreciate the basic

difference here.

Since most of the products developed by the innovation method are targeted at

the upper strata of the society that can afford them, these products are designed

and developed with specific goals in mind, and the completion of these goals is

ensured by extensive research and development by the companies that compete

to fulfil the demand. Hence the specific demands such as efficiency, environment

41

friendliness and aesthetic appeal are met. The industries here are producing the

product on a large scale and hence fall under the government regulation and

hence have to abide by strict regulation laws.

As opposed to that, the jugaad solutions are not designed to please the

customers, most likely the target customers do not care much about the

pleasantries. They are more interested in getting the job done, because getting

the job done means earning a living and earning a living means food in their

plates and clothes on their bodies. Hence more often than not, these solutions

do not fare very well in the realm of efficiency, environment friendliness and

aesthetic appeal, but they get the job done.

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Chapter 5:

Creativity and Innovation: A Psychological Perspective

There is a need to understand jugaad from a psychological perspective. One may

take a view that it is a low cost alternative that compromises with safety, has

invisible operational cost, and grossly violates the intellectual property right

(IPR). However, this section examines jugaad in terms of a creative urge to do

something, innovative solution to overcome the problem, and attitudinal bias to

accept and use the product.

Creativity and Innovation

Creativity involves converting imagination into reality. This reality could be a

tangible product based on recombining hidden connections between

phenomena that are seemingly unrelated. Literature on creativity suggests that

creativity follows five stages— preparation, incubation, insight, evaluation and

elaboration. Preparation is a stage wherein one prepares oneself for creating

something new by making attempts to absorb more and more knowledge in the

given domain. This attempt to absorb more and more lead to a state where the

information trickles down to the subconscious level, thus allowing the person to

incubate. At the second stage the absorbed information is churned

subconsciously for days, weeks, months or years and one fine day an idea clicks

leading to the third stage— insight. Although insight signifies the ‘Eureka’

moment and is the smallest of the stages of creativity, it is of high significance.

The subconscious churning at the incubation stage subsides to allow ideas to

surface on the forefront of the conscious mind. The fourth stage of creativity is

evaluation wherein the person examines his/her own ideas. The reflection and

search for merit of the idea ensures that the idea finally taken forward yields

positive outcomes. Finally, the mentally evaluated idea is put to reality and the

43

person works on it. Elaboration demands ground level testing of the idea.

Eventually the creative idea takes a formal shape. George Land examined -

creativity in children and later replicated this work on elders as well. His seminal

work examined participants ranging from three years to adults. The findings

revealed that human beings are naturally creative but this sharply declines with

increase in age. This indicates that by nature human beings are creative and

upon understanding the nitigrities of a product/function they might think of

possible ways of recombining them to come forward with something novel.

Innovation, on the other hand, is a stage when the improvised product or service

is implemented and the society gets to see or use it. As described by Christensen

et al., five behavioral functions are responsible for generating innovative ideas—

associating, questioning, observing, networking and experimenting. Given the

fact that one can associate ideas derived from unrelated fields is the first step

towards innovation. This helps connect different questions that one comes

across. It is likely to yield certain questions and connections that would challenge

common wisdom. This stage of questioning directs one to observe and scrutinize

the current problem and the way in which people try to deal with them. This is

the third stage which demands observation. Having observed people with

different ideas, one may like to network with some of them. Finally, one

experiments with the experiences and these results into insight. This is how one

innovates.

Both creativity and innovation are integral part of the process of developing a

juggad product. The deeply felt need for a product based solution is driven by

the knowledge that one has pertaining to the functioning of a product. The

imagination of the person further helps visualize the possible combinations and

alternatives. Mixed with risk taking, the evaluation of the final product finally

leads to a jugaad driven product. In specific cases, such as agriculture products,

this could even be a collective enterprise. In such cases the collective capacity of

the group has multiplication effect on this process.

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It is proposed that while creativity has to do with thinking new, innovation has to

do with doing new things. Innovation has a mix of idea as well as action. The

compelling socio-economic needs are mitigated by few creative people who have

the ability to metacognize the existing working ideas. They come forward with

new ways of looking at the problem. This represents creativity. When this

creative solution is recognized as ‘solution to the problem’ by people and the

solution positively affects their lives it becomes innovation.

Although creativity is not a precondition for innovation great ideas follow certain

steps and creative outcomes come out as a new product or service. For obvious

reasons users of these products and services see it as a cheap alternative and

accept it at the cost of safety, long-term economic benefits, and so forth.

According to Joseph F. Engelberger, innovation has three prerequisites—

1. A recognized need,

2. Competent people with relevant technology, and

3. Financial support

It is the lack of financial support that forces people to opt for jugaad. Gabriel

Tarde’s (1903) S-shaped diffusion curve (Figure 5.1) explains the spread of a new

innovation. It plots growth of income or productivity against time. In the early

stage the growth of the new innovative jugaad is relatively slow. Gradually the

new product establishes itself.

Figure 5.1: Gabriel Tarde’s S-shaped diffusion curve

45

Although there is no empirical evidence related to product lifecycle and growth

or decline of jugaad products, instance many of the jugaad alternatives seems to

have a much longer life, especially in the agriculture sector. For, let us take the

examples of Mai and Koop.

Koop

Image 5.1: Koop

Koop is a structure made for storage of straw. It is mostly maintained from May

to February and used even during rainy season. Materials needed for a koop are

three green bamboos, around 20 meter rope, 15 bunch of sarpat (dhanni), 20

hand payar, and around 15 square feet polythene sheet. Farmers use corner of

the field, especially a higher part of the corner space of a field to make koop.

Green bamboos are arranged in conical form around the portion and dhanni is

arranged on the inner as well as outer layer of the koop. Sarpat (danni) is tied up

with the help of rope and straw is manually pressed and adjusted so that the

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koop is filled with maximum amount of straw. Thereafter, clay is wrapped on the

head of the koop. Once the clay dries-up it is covered with polythene. Rain water

does not enter a koop because of its specific design. To draw out straw from the

koop the farmer makes a temporary hole in the lower section of koop. The

normal height of a koop is approximately 15 feet. The cost of a koop includes

cost of a 20 feet bamboo, rope and polythene sheet.

Mai

Image 5.2: Mai

Mai is a piece of large and heavy wood attached with a tractor that is used for

leveling the field. It is rectangular in shape with around 8 feet length and around

12 inch width. It helps in reducing weeds in the field. It is only made of neem tree

or bamboo because of their anti-insect characteristics. This provides long life to a

Mai. The approximate cost of a mai is around 4000 rupees. This includes Rs.

1500/- as charge of the carpenter and Rs. 2000/- as cost of the tree. Around five

hundred is needed for transport, cutting of the tree, etc.

Mai and Koop are examples from agriculture sector that indicates that these

alternatives were chosen because of cost efficiency, both in terms of making of

the product as well as its maintenance.

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The Question of Attitude

Besides creativity and innovation the other psychological factor that sustains

Jugaad products in the market/society is the attitude of people. Literature in

social psychology has a rich collection of empirical findings pertaining to attitude.

According to Krech and Crutchfield (1948), “attitude can be defined as an

enduring organization of motivational, emotional, perceptual, and cognitive

processes with respect to some aspect of the individual's world” (p. 152). Daryl

Bem summarized that “Attitudes are likes and dislikes” (1970, p. 14). Attitude is

defined as “a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular

entity with some degree of favor or disfavor” (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993, p. 1).

According to the multi-component model of attitude, attitudes have cognitive,

affective, and behavioural components. The cognitive component refers to the

belief, thoughts and attributes associated with an object. On the other hand,

affective component refers to the emotions attached to the attitude object. The

behavioural component refers to behaviour or experiences previously shown

with respect to the attitude object.

On the basis of the functions that it serves, Daniel Katz has identified four

functions that it serves— utilitarian function, knowledge function, ego-defensive

function and value-expressive function. People adopt attitude that serve their

self-interest. Thus, it is the utilitarian function based on which one chooses

attitude that either reward them or help them avoid punishment. This explains

why people indulge in developing jugaad products. One always strives to

maintain a meaningful and stable view of the world. Our value system plays

significant role in providing framework to the knowledge that we have and

attitude helps fit things together so that one is ultimately able to make sense.

Attitudes are also instrumental in protecting self-esteem of a person in a

frustrating situation, thus ensuring the subjective well-being of the person

concerned. They play important role in making a person express his/her core

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beliefs. In turn, these expressions help them establish their identity in the society

and seek social approval. This explains how one does not revisit safety and IPR

issues and keeps on using a jugaad product.

Incorporating the need, creativity, innovation and attitude, we propose a

theoretical model of jugaad.

• Socio-economic compulsions

Need

• Recombining hidden connections

Creative thought • Improvisation

• Social acceptance

Innovative solution

Jugaad(Product/Service)

Attitude

Figure 5.2: Theoretical model of jugaad

The model explicates the socio-economic compulsions that fuel the need for a

product/service or its alternative. This need triggers creative thought thus

making the person recombine hidden connections in an already existing product.

Once the society accepts this as an improvised low cost alternative, it is

recognized as an innovative solution. This results in jugaad. Favourable attitude

help maintain this new alternative with positive bias.

An Engineer’s Perspective

One of the challenges facing engineering faculties is the matter of embedding

creativity and innovation into undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Creativity is perceived to be the domain of the arts, and the general

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understanding of innovation is any change. In industrialised society people

expect originality, ingenuity and novelty from new or improved products

processes and systems, and these factors are the basis of creativity. It follows

that since most of products, processes and systems in industrialised society are

based on engineering and associated technology, it is imperative that these

values are an integral part of engineering education, and that innovation, which

is the commercialisation of creative design, is also taught as a fundamental

element in the education of an engineer.

Often this has simply resulted in engineering courses that have moved away

from the traditional values of engineering undergraduate courses based on

science and mathematics, towards courses based on vocational skills such as

detail drawing, and administration, masquerading under titles such as product

design and engineering management. Industrialists realize that the engineering

leaders of tomorrow cannot come from courses such as these.

The problem about discussing creativity and innovation is that if a group of

individuals are asked to define these terms, there will be as many definitions as

there are persons in the group. The reason is that these are non-verbal activities.

In the traditional engineering sense, or perhaps to be more correct the scientific

sense, if the same group of individuals were asked to define Newton’s laws of

motion, Ohm’s law or Kirchhoff’s law, provided they knew and remembered

what they had previously learned, all would give the same answer. The reason is

that these are verbal activities and hence can be defined. This difference

between verbal subjects and non-verbal subjects to a large extent explains the

reason why engineering academics are keen to teach verbal subjects to the

exclusion of the non-verbal.

Basic skills required of an engineer are drawing and modelling. In the past the

drawing skills were predominantly the generation of formal orthographic and

isometric drawings. Today the CAD systems have largely replaced formal drawing

skills and can do so much more. For example three-dimensional visualisation,

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dynamic computer models, downloading computer files to a rapid prototype

machine to produce realistic models etc. The computer can also undertake

calculations to verify the integrity of the design under consideration.

Mathematics and science as applied in engineering are a form of abstract

modelling and in theory form the basis of all engineering activity. In reality

mathematics and science are used as an occasional check in most industries to

ascertain that the design is fit for purpose. Unfortunately in engineering

education academics generally provide the students with a situation already

modelled and students are expected to calculate the right answer. In engineering

practice the problem has to be modelled then calculations performed. Of course

a reserve (or safety) factor is always added, ranging from around 50% for class 1

structures in aircraft design to perhaps 2000% for some civil engineering

structures. The lesson here is that engineering students have to learn to model

situations, but once having generated the model a ballpark analysis will generally

suffice.

Only the best manufacturers successfully compete with the large multinational

corporations. This means that you need to be among the very best

entrepreneurs not only to succeed but to survive on today’s market which is

marked by the cut-throat competition. There are several important differences

between successful business owners who continue to grow and those that

stagnate instead of expanding their business. And one of the main differences

between both types of entrepreneurs is innovation.

The importance of innovation in manufacturing cannot be emphasized enough. It

does not only refer to production of innovative products that are different from

those offered by the competition but it also refers to innovative and creative

approach to production processes and advertisement. In fact, innovation plays

the key role in all levels of manufacturing and even the economy itself.

Globalization and tough competition force both small business owners and

multinational corporations to continue to “reinvent” themselves as well as their

products in order to retain or gain a share on the market because the customers

do not easily give up their favourite products and try something new unless they

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think that the new product may offer them more value for their money. The key

to success is therefore to make your product stand out on the market which can

be achieved only through innovative and creative approach to manufacturing.

Innovation is not just about offering the customers new and quality products for

the same or even lower price but to offer something different without increasing

the expenses for production processes. For that reason innovation plays an

important role in both production processes and management. All successful

companies stimulate creativity and innovation in all their employees from

product developers to workers at assembly lines because they are well aware of

the potentials of every human. There are several ways to create an innovative

and creative working environment but the most important of all is to motivate

the employees to share their ideas with the company leadership.

Innovative approach to advertising is just as important as innovation in product

development and manufacturing processes because the days when the quality

spoke for itself are long gone. With so many products available, the customers

tend to choose those they know and those that seem to offer them more for

their money. This means that your product must recognizable and attractive to

the customers which requires well thought through and well led marketing

campaign in order to become visible in the first place.

We can if manufacturers steer away from low value manufacturing and look at

ways of introducing high end value products and processes – manufacturers

need to be thinking more creatively in order to outwit competitors across the

globe, with less focus on the actual production of a product or process – turning

a clever idea into reality and then marketing it successfully takes brains and the

vision to see further than the how good a product or process is on paper. The

creative process is often looked at as the icing on the manufacturing cake but is

still too easily overlooked – marketing, advertising and branding is what gets a

product or process to market and how it benefits the end-user, not how it is

made or from what material. Manufacturers need to focus on adding value

through marketing innovation. The value of a brand dictates its potential for

sales growth and export success.

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Research based output is becoming more widespread and manufacturers really

do need to spend more on R&D, education and development in order to progress

and advance forward.

This is the only way that the manufacturing industry can progress

Real Innovation in Manufacturing

One can define six points that organizations should work towards a Real

Innovation in Manufacturing:

i. Increase Productivity

Increase the Operational Productivity through of the well known tools of

Operational Excellence as Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Theory of

Constraints (TOC), Business Process Management, etc.

Increase the Resource Productivity across the full “Supply Circle”. According to

Manufacturing Resource Productivity the manufacturers can generate new

value, minimize costs, and increase operational stability by focusing and

prioritizing on four broad areas: production, product design, value recovery, and

supply-circle management.

In production, the manufacturers should implement programs to improve labor

and capital productivity through Operational Excellence. By incorporating energy

and materials parameters into product-design approaches, manufacturers could

reduce the use of materials that are non-renewable, hazardous, difficult to

source, or expensive. Changes to product design could increase opportunities for

recycling and reusing components and materials at the end of product’s life

cycle.

For value recovery, companies can satisfy their resource needs by recycling and

reusing materials historically discarded as waste. Those involved in waste

management and the use of great technological advances to pave the way by

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developing services that allow manufacturers to capture value from materials

left over after production or after a product has reached the end of its life cycle.

In supply-circle management the companies could transform their supply chains

into supply circles, emphasizes that materials can be looped back into the

production process after they have fulfilled their utility over the life of a product.

With Innofacturing, the companies will have to dedicate much effort to

optimizing resources and at the same time rethinking their business models to

capture the value residing in resource ownership.

ii. Implement a Continuous Improvement Culture

Kaizen or Continuous Improvement is a Japanese term well known and applied

by many companies. This is part of Operational Excellence, whose main aim is

focused in reduce operating costs, improve processes and working within a

permanent culture of improvement. Kaizen is part of two Strategic Diamonds of

Firms, this is understood with The Shingo Prize, a standard model for “create

excellence in organizations through the application of universally accepted

principles of operational excellence, alignment of management systems and the

wise application of improvement techniques”.

iii. Create an Innovation Culture: Innovation As a Core Competence of Business,

Organization and Culture

How the manufacturers turn “ordinary” employees into extraordinary

innovators? How a manager or executive drive innovation to the core? A

company should build and sustain an innovation infrastructure, a deep,

corporate-wide capability for innovation, where the employees could quickly find

the cash and the management support that they need to turn their ideas into

market success stories. The manufacturers should seek monetizing the

imagination of your employees, customer, and business partners every day,

everywhere.

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According to Innovation to the Core by Gibson and Skarzynsky, within Quality

Systems, the Six Sigma Black Belts had been trained to wield the weapons of

statistical process analysis and continuous improvement; in this manner the

manufacturers must implant the innovation gene in the company, must train and

support to “Intrapreneurs” or “Innovation Champions”, so, innovation can

become a systemic capability inside of organization. Every single one of

organization’s employees, in every level and in every location, must be trained in

the principles, skills, and tools of innovation greatly enhancing their ability to

discover new insights, spot unexploited opportunities, and generate novel

business ideas.

In 2001, Jeff Immelt, GE’s chairman and CEO, launched a “Cultural Revolution”,

pushing its strategic focus beyond continuous improvement and bottom-line

results toward the creation of bold, imaginative ideas. So when Whirlpool’s

former CEO Dave Whitwam set out to define his company’s global innovation

strategy back in 1999, the exact words he used were “Innovation from Everyone

and Everywhere”.

According to several successful companies such as Whirlpool, P&G, CEMEX, GE,

some examples of the changes or activities to create a Culture of Innovation are

as follows:

The creation of cross-functional “innovation teams” in each region of operation,

that will be lead by the innovation director with each team consisting of 10 to 12

members from across the company, whose mandate is to generate new ideas

and breakout proposals

The participation of “innovation mentors” and “innovation consultants”, in part

time or full time, who acts as highly skilled advisers to new project development

teams

The introduction of a companywide training program aimed at developing and

distributing the mind-set and skills of innovation. Support for “innovation

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champions” in every part of the organization, who are there to guide and mentor

any employee who comes up with an idea

The creation of “innovation boards” in each region and each major business unit

for to screen and fund the best proposals

The organization of big communication events called “innovation days” where

innovation teams showcase their ideas to stakeholders; these events are

necessary to recognizing and celebrating the work of innovators.

The creation of a comprehensive set of metrics to continually measure the

company’s innovation performance as well as its progress in embedding

innovation as a core competence

The establishment of a complete IT infrastructure, which integrates all

employees into the innovation effort and allows them to track progress on

innovation activities across the corporation

By experience of experts, build the kinds of skills, tools, management processes,

metrics, values and IT systems that are required to create an innovation culture

and support ongoing can take an organization three to five years.

iv. Developing Talent and Ability to Innovate

While a company is working on implementing a culture of innovation it is very

important to develop talent and ability to innovate, as this will play an important

role in defining manufacturing sector’s competitiveness in developed and

emerging economies.

The report Talent is Key to Future of Manufacturing Industry indicates that the

ability to innovate is the capacity for developing creative ideas and delivering

innovative products and services to global markets will be the capabilities most

coveted by countries and companies. Craig Giffi, Vice-Chairman and Consumer &

Industrial Products Industry Leader at Deloitte LLP, USA said in this report,

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“Today, and for the future, the manufacturing game is going to look like a global

talent competition, one in which countries and companies contend to find and

develop highly skilled workers who can handle the advanced manufacturing

processes needed to make innovative, high-value products”.

A new manufacturing (mind-facturing) needs to understand that there are

certain competencies (in Scientists & Engineers, Technology Managers,

Technicians, and skilled trades) associated with the manufacturing of certain

advanced products, and if the manufacturers and countries lose those

competencies it can affect the overall competitiveness of the nations. For this

reason, is clear that there is a key challenge for businessmen to engage their

cooperation in strengthening their ability and capacity to innovate.

v. Design and Build New-Growth Factory – Go from R&D to C&D

To systematize innovation and growth in a manufacturer company according to

Scott D. Anthony’s article How P & G Tripled Its Innovation Success Rate is

necessary to create the right organizational structure for Design and Build New-

Growth Factories. This includes large new-business creation groups, focused

project teams, and entrepreneurial guides who help teams rapidly prototype and

test new products and business models in the market. The teams follow a step-

by-step business development manual and use specialized project and portfolio

management tools.

Continuing with Innofacturing, consider important to apply the model for

innovation created and implemented by P&G that allows go from R&D to C&D.

Connect and Develop innovation model has a clear sense of consumers’ needs,

the company could identify promising ideas throughout the world and apply

their own R&D, manufacturing, marketing, and purchasing capabilities to them

to create better and cheaper products, faster.

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vi. Collaboration

To spur innovation, manufacturers are collaborating more than ever before.

Innovation is not going to happen in isolation, is necessary increasingly in

collaborative arrangements with suppliers, customers and partner companies.

The manufacturers will work with customers for customized product

development and with suppliers for product design. According to Global

Manufacturers Balancing Innovation, Cost Management there’s a decisive shift

by manufacturers towards collaboration in the earliest stages of product

development. Jeff Dobbs, KPMG’s global head of Diversified Industrials said in

this report that “This inclusive approach to innovation not only disperses

potential risks, costs and rewards across the supply chain, but it also lets

manufacturers focus on what they do best by leveraging the expertise of external

partners and accelerating speed to market.”

The companies that want to achieve Innofacturing, the real innovation in

manufacturing must on the one hand to transform their operations through an

innovation culture for build a New-Growth Factory and other dramatically

increase their productivity (operational + resource), to stay within a continuous

improvement. In the future, the smart companies will have to use their talent-

facturing to dedicate much effort to optimizing all their resources, while at the

same time rethinking their business models to capture the value residing in

resource ownership.

An Interview with Kewal Dharamshi

[Mitsubishi, Japan; Founder of SAE, IIT Kanpur

Q: How did you start thinking of the foundation of such a great venture like SAE

as a student and how important do you think innovation is in this regard?

A: Majorly because of two reasons: 1) I loved cars from childhood. 2) Being from

Indore, I thought that IIT-k would definitely have an automobile team which I

could join. But when I came to IITK, I found no such team, so thought of

developing such a team myself.

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Innovation is a difficult word to use in this context. I would however say that, if

any person has any dream and desire which cannot be fulfilled with the current

structure is in; he should not stop at that point. If you prove that you and your

idea is capable enough, even the unfavourable circumstances can change.

Q: Well said....you said that innovation is a difficult word to use here...what are

you more inclined towards in general...innovation or creativity or what appeals

to you more out of the two...innovation or creativity or both?

A: Innovation is a product of creative mind. I won’t say I am creative; I just pick

things that interest me and give full effort to see it become successful.

Q: And lastly do innovation and having a creative mind hold importance after

graduation like in your case while working in your company?

A: Yeah. It surely does, with creative mind you become the developer and

without, a user. It’s that simple. In Japan, having a creative mind will surely be

helpful, Japanese people just follow the rules without using their brains.

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Chapter 6

Jugaad Captured on Films

A series of films have been made on various jugaad products. These were shot in

various rural areas of India. All the films go on to show how jugaad or frugal

innovation as it is called, is widespread in poor villages, where inventors

responding to local needs have come up with easy-to-implement ideas.

Jugaad Vans of Bengal

Travelling through the crowded streets of the Sunderbans indifferent to the

stares that it attracts, one can see a bizarre contraption ferrying people and

goods around alike, they call it the jugaad van, Van-O, a befitting name by any

standards. Amidst a sea of buses and taxis and tempos, Van-O stands out by the

sheer strangeness of its design. It seems to be an assembly of things that seem

not to belong together. One struggles to place the vehicle in any single category,

like a zoologist encountering the platypus for the first time, is it a mammal, a

bird, or something that evolved as a combination of the two. On the first look

Van-O seems to be a trolley, but then the motorcycle handle comes into focus

and one wonders if it’s a bike after all, on closer inspection the pump set engine

becomes evident and that is when all the pretensions about the machine breaks

down. In fact, it is all of these things: A sum of parts, and in the process of its

assemblage, preferably more useful than the parts.

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Image 6.1: Jugaad van carrying people

The Drivers, the Users and the Police

The drivers themselves seem to be more of experienced pilots of complicated

spacecrafts than seeming what they actually are, drivers of trolleys that ferry

things, animate and inanimate, around. Van-O, as one driver proudly proclaims,

is the cheapest form of transport around, be it for people of goods, and hence,

he confides, it’s so successful. Looking at the alternatives it does seem to be

performing well. In a market where the main competitors are taxis and matadors

and rickshaws, the growth of Van-O in number, if not in technology or aesthetics,

has been significant. When asked why they drove such scary contraptions, the

drivers pointed out to the “obvious” reason that they had no other choice. When

asked if they had tried to drive the conventional vehicles, if they had tried for the

permits, they replied in the affirmative.

It appears that the only reason, apart from money of course, was the

unavailability of permits and licenses, and this leads to some very interesting

cases of mutual understanding between the drivers and the law and governing

authorities. The drivers reluctantly agree to the fact that although their vehicles

were legally banned, they still could use it in the outskirts of the city. When it

comes to the significant matters of feeding the family, educating the children

and taking care of the aged, these drivers seem to be very clear on their

objective. They seem to be convinced that if a job, though a bit risky and illegal

can pay for their kin, they would do it happily. We ask if this is all they had ever

61

done, if they had ever driven anything else or not. As it turns out, most of the

drivers had been earlier employed in some other form of transport, driving

trolleys or hand rickshaws, compared to their previous occupations, they

observe, the present situation was an improvement. Who would not agree, given

the smile he had on his face when he said this.

If properly observed, one can see the most basic reason behind all this: Money.

One of the drivers confide in a little secret that in the end would appear to be

appealing to most of the readers. He claims that transporting a ferry of

vegetables using a proper van or mini truck takes around Rs. 800-900, while the

Van-O takes only Rs. 200. The disparities in the prices are huge and as he clearly

points out and the same disparity is reflected in the prices of vegetables. So

when one of the housewives (or husbands!), who usually complain about the

pollution that Van-O creates and the lack of safety in these vehicles, go out for

vegetable shopping, are they willing to pay that extra buck so that the

transportation can be done in proper, environment friendly, safe ways? The line

of argument presented here is known as internalization of a problem in

economics. When some of the college students were asked about Van-O they

had mixed responses. One of them had fallen off the vehicle while one of his

rides and he had some serious issues against the safety standards of the van.

Being educated, these students could articulate their eco friendly concerns and

that Van-O was by no standard a gift for the natural environment. They saw Van-

O as guilty of pollution as they considered, believed even, that using kerosene

and sub-standard oil in Van-O was creating a lot of pollution. They also seemed

to be aware of the fact that these Vans were probably banned because of all

these problems that they just mentioned. But then, they apprehensively

admitted to travelling in the Van themselves, not just before the accident, but

after the accident as well. It seems to be the matter that considering the price

differences in the fares of Van-O and the rest of the transport, there is hardly a

choice for the commuters but to opt for Van-O. In the end, though it seems to be

more of a question of elasticity of demand for the economics people, the non-

economics people can wonder whether they are willing to pay the extra dime for

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travelling safely from one place to another, or do they want to save it for, let’s

say some fun later.

The condition of Van as of now stands such: They create pollution, they are

unsafe and are a hazard on wheels, yet the demand for them is increasing by the

day and people, fully aware of the consequences still travel by the Van. In such

scenarios the government steps in and decides what is right for people and what

not. As it happens, the Bengal government has deemed Van-O unfit for public

use, which leaves it to the hands of the authorities to implement the verdict. But

the authorities seem to have a rather passive role in the enforcement of laws in

this case. There appears to be ‘an understanding’ between the drivers and the

police about where Van-O should be driven and where not. Considering the

alternative for wither side, economically at least, it is favourable that the vans

keep running.

The Machine and the Makers

Since so much has been said about the machine itself, but not the specifics such

as how and where it’s made, let us look at the machine now and how and where

it’s made, later concentrating on the other aspects of the story such as the

safety, efficiency and the position of Van-O in the Bengali society. The mechanic

who supplies to the growing local demand of Van-O operates out of a one room

shop that would appear to be nothing but clutter to the untrained eye. He seems

to be a man who has aged before his time. He picks up the welding machine, and

with confidence and an utter disregard for his own safety starts welding two

rectangle cross section pipes together. He is trying to make the chassis, or as

they call it, the frame of the van. He describes, with a surety borne of tireless

hard work, the various components of the van. Even as he does that, his six years

old daughter roams around the garage, trying to gain the old man’s attention.

One look at the girl is enough to convince one of the old man’s motivations to

work. Making ends meet is what he lives by and for.

The frame, he says, is made in the garage itself. It was designed and developed

locally. The frame, or the chassis, has the main function of keeping the

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independent van components together. It allows spaces where the engine, the

transmission, the braking system and the steering system can be mounted. The

frame is made of mild steel pipes of rectangular cross section, though

development of a similar chassis in any automotive company would require a

rigorous analysis of the strength and load bearing capacity of the chassis and

recursive solution finding suiting the best need depending on the factor of safety

required, these people seem to design and make the frame without any such

analysis. Either with the help of decades of experience accumulated in the

community adept at working with metal and machines or with sheer luck this

and similar garages have been able to produce frames that have been able to

support the structure and withstand the test of time, at least for as long as two

to three years. The here seems to be the main component as it keeps together

components that do not belong together. Not unlike a good team leader, it keeps

the dissimilar entities synchronized with each other and helps the machine as a

whole to function. The frame is the main jugaad here. The reason for stating this

would be evident later.

Image 6.2: Jugaad van under construction

The owner of the garage and the maker of the vans further proceed to describe

the rest of the components. Though doubtfully inaccurate in the facts that they

are giving, they seem to be pretty sure of them themselves-- a surety probably

stemming from an indifferent ignorance. Although without any real research to

back up the data that he presents, the owner seems to be confident in the

numbers. He claims the engine mileage to be 40km/L and engine life to be 2

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years when operated on diesel. He believes, including a differential in the power

train boosts up the engine, a pump here, power (for the record it does not,

differential can only distribute the produced power better, leading to a better

utilization of the produced power, hence giving the illusion of more power being

produced).

The rest of the components do not seem much interesting in the sense of

originality as they seem to be scavenged from parts that already existed. The

engine used to power the Van is actually a pump set engine that operates on

diesel, originally meant to power irrigation pumps used in the villages. The tyres

are ‘borrowed’ from an old Rajdoot and reinforced with steel rods on either side

to make them cope with the additional loading that they would be facing very

shortly. When it comes to the power transmission system, the novelty in design

seems to grow even more. The gear box seems to be the gift from the Mahindra

Jeep, obtained ‘second hand’ or ‘brand new’. The rear differential seems to be

from some FIAT. Such an uncommon concoction! The suspension system is no

different. The front suspension, a simple spring damper system, and steering

system that at first appeared to be a bike handle, is actually a minidor handle,

the bike handles seem to be inadequate and poor considering the heavy loads

and uneven operating conditions. The rear suspension, a leaf spring suspension

system, comes from ‘Vikram’, (a large three-wheeled motor driven auto) another

local product, but a bit more formalized.

As he tries to machine a steel plate on the grinding machine, with sparks flying in

all imaginable directions and without any glasses, he informs us that all the

welding and machining required in making the Van is done in the garage itself.

He then picks up the welding apparatus to attach the plates that he just grinded

to the chassis as pedestals for the driver. Without bothering himself with goggles

of gloves or shoes or apron, things one would usually expect one to adorn while

welding, he and his sub-ordinate, a teen trying to learn the respected skill of Van-

making, start welding the plate. When he appears to be half way in the process,

his mobile phone rings, he holds the welding torch in one hand, holding the

phone close to his ear using the other hand; he continues welding as if nothing

65

out of the ordinary was happening. The Indian government, along with the rest

of the governments around the world, has massive advertisement campaigns

warning the dangers of talking on cell phone while driving, one wonders if it’s

time to start an ad campaign for something even more dangerous.

Image 6.3: Jugaad mechanic at work

As his call ends, with the welding torch still red hot, he looks up at the

apprentice. He stands up and brings him the mud guard. The welding equipment,

originally meant to be used for welding things, will now be used to make holes in

the mud guard. This seems to be the hallmark of jugaad innovation. Using things

in ways undreamt of! Consider the case of our Van maker. For each of mud

guards that he procures out of the market for fitting in the Van, two holed must

be made so that the mud guards can be secured to the frame, above the wheels,

in the position befitting a mud guard. For this he needs a way to make the holes,

there are drilling and punching machines available in the market that allow

mechanics to do precisely that. But knowing that he already has the welding

apparatus, and knowing that thin sheets of steel cannot be welded together

because the excess heat melts the metal sheet, allows mechanics such as this

man to use the welding equipment, that he cannot live without, for making

holes.

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Image 6.4: Van with a motorcycle engine

With dexterity and ease he makes the holes and proceeds outside to breathe

some fresh air and wipe the sweat off his forehead. The sweat was a result of

working at a speed comparable to the speed of robots performing synchronized

actions in an assembly line. The welds and the cuts, made only using the intuition

and experience, accurate enough to make Vans that will thousands of people

and tones of freight without failing miserably. One naturally wonders the state of

such a skilled technician and the use he might be in the organized automotive

sector. When asked of his past employment history he reluctantly admits to

being a technician in a factory a few years ago. The reason for abandoning that

position and ending up where he did were two, the first was that the factory paid

meagre amounts compared to the work output they required, money clearly not

enough to sustain an over grown family, a family overgrown probably due to lack

of awareness about and education of advantages of small families. The second

reason being the absence of training in or knowledge of any other trade. He

claimed he simply knew nothing else that he could do to support his family. He

admits to having earned Rs. 160 while he was working for the company, now he

makes Rs. 200 for each Van that he sells. This does make one wonder if one of

the reasons these jobs exist at all is that the skill is undervalued and underpaid in

the present day economy. Does the increase in population to an epidemic level

increase the number of job seekers to such an extent that they are not able to

get adequate wages proportional to their skill content? But concerning situations

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of the economy aside, the prospects for our garage owner appear bright as the

demand for vans keep on increasing. Apart from that, being the creator of the

machine, he also does the repair of any malfunctioning of the machine. Thus he

earns, both from the sales and the services.

Image 6.5: Machines that make a jugaad van

As the rest period came to an end, he got back to the work of welding and

assembling. This time the transmission rods that would control the acceleration

and braking of the van were being welded. Needless to say, the rods were

welded with remarkable dexterity, but what is worth mentioning is the close

proximity to very high temperatures and very unsafe environments. Once

welding of the major component and parts are done, the crew starts putting in

the smaller, market purchased components. Accelerator wires, brakes, diesel

tanks, horns and other smaller things are put in place. Once the components are

in place, they proceed to painting the van, obviously without gas masks or

protective glasses, a peacock blue green colour.

Dada (Bengali word for elder brother) stands next to the finished and product

and tries explaining some more of the engineering. He demonstrates how the

gear system works, how one can shift from the first to the top gear, bypassing all

the stages in between. On closer inspection, after a day or so with Dada, it does

seem simpler. Let us try saying it this way. There is a pump set which is mounted

(put) on a metal frame that is strong enough to hold it through thick and thin.

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Now the pump set produces a rotational output and is capable of delivering it to

something else through a belt. So after the pump set, a slightly altered Jeep gear

box that has a belt driven pulley is placed. This gearbox changes the RPM and

torque as per requirement. Now usually between the engine and the gear box

there is a clutch that disengages the engine for the time period when the gears

are being changed, this prevents any damage to the gear teeth in the gear box.

But here there is no clutch at all as it might add to the costs of a van whose

consumers are very price specific. So a slacked belt is used, which is put in

tension when the driving is to be done (not unlike the disengaged clutch

position). And when the gear has to be changed, the belt is removed from

tension, make slack again, disengaging the engine and the gearbox (not unlike

the engaged clutch position). The gearbox then gives its power to the differential

which in turn gives the power to the wheels. That seems to be the power train,

very standard, all very text book specific if viewed in overview, but up close the

system is very extra ordinary.

The sheer complexity faced while making the dissimilar, potentially incompatible

parts together, is worth applause, if not anything less than that. The braking

system is even more novel, but to the experienced eyes, rather less reliable. For

braking, the Van has a moderately big rotating drum on the rear axle, on the

drum is wrapped a slacked wide belt which goes through a pulley and tensioning

mechanism that responds to the driver pressing the brake pedal. So when the

brake pedal is pressed, the wide belt becomes tight and increases the friction on

the drum thus reducing the speed of the vehicle. The wet condition performance

seems to be debatable, not so very debatable for the safety oriented people may

be. The newbie and a kid hop on to the van and take it out for a spin. With the

raucous that ancient machinery makes, though not ancient itself, the Van-O

takes off. The newbie speeds the van thrice past the garage to the satisfaction of

the master.

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Image 6.6: Front view of the jugaad van

Image 6.7: Mechanic at work

Jugaad Tyre Chapa

The most common maintenance activity that almost all the automobile owners

have to do is to get their tyres fixed when they get punctured. A flat tyre leaves

an otherwise functional automobile obsolete and hence requires immediate

assistance. The mechanics and shop owners hence have a hefty business catering

to this market where their skills come in handy. If one looks at the practices

associated with fixing tyres, one would find an age old set pattern with

unchanged and banal tools that have been used in the same way since the dawn

of the vulcanized rubber era. Although not particularly demanding in either the

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physical sense or the intellectual sense, the act of repetitively changing tyres still

provide some hindrance and hence possess the possibility of innovative

intervention. The present machine, or shall we call it contraption, aims to solve

one of the problems faced while changing tyres.

Let us first look at the problem it tries to solve. The tyres that we see in cars and

bikes are not single individual units but are rather an assembly of some four or

five parts. First we have the rim, the metallic structure that gets attached to the

chassis and has mechanisms that allow for steering and braking. It is on this rim

that rest two parts are mounted. The tyre-tube assembly is mounted on the rim.

The tyre is the one that we see outside and which provides mechanical strength.

The tube stays inside the tyre and is capable of holding compressed air inside it

which provides the support and flexibility that is required of tyres. When we say

the tyre is punctured what we mean by it is that the tyre-tube assembly has

gotten damaged, leaving the tube incapable of holding the compressed air in it,

which leads to a failure of the whole assembly. The reasons why the tyre may get

punctured are many and particularly abundant in developing countries that have

garbage infested streets and roads that some call death traps. The rims, as we

saw earlier, are made of steel, or some variational alloy thereof, and hence are

prone to rusting. When the rust accumulates and mixes with water and oil

abundant in the operating conditions, they together form an adhesive kind of

substance that glues tyre to the rim. Though not permanent in its nature, this

adhesive makes the lives of garage mechanics tougher. This happens as to fix the

punctures, it is necessary that the tyre-tube assembly be removed and then

processed separately, away from the rim. But the adhesive concocted out of rust

and oil, makes it harder for the tyres to come off. The stronger the adhesive the

harder it is to get the tyre off, and hence greater the fatigue and weariness of the

worker.

Earlier methods of softening the tyre, the process of weakening the adhesive

bond, included techniques like beating the tyre with hammer and a blunt chisel

till the adhesive gave away. This stone-aged approach, in addition to being tiring

and frustrating, also took a heavy toll on the tyre condition. Due to repeated

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blows and concentrated forces, the rubber in the tyre disintegrated faster than

usual and hence meant lesser tyre life. The present contraption tries to solve this

problem efficiently. The contraption comprises of a semi-circular metallic arc

that is attached to a handle that the worker operates. The contraption is a

second class lever that has force and fulcrum on the either ends and has load in

the middle.

Image 6.8: Jugaad tyre chapa

When the semi circular arc is rested on the circumference of the tyre and handle

pushed, the force separates the tyre from the rim and henceforth the puncture

can be done. The advantage of such a contraption is two folds. Since the machine

removes hard work and is ergonomic in design, it improves the efficiency of the

worker a lot. And since there are no repetitive blows to the tyre and the force is

distributed and not concentrated, the damage done to tyre is less and hence it

improves the lifecycle of the tyre.

Jugaad Marriage Lighting

An important aspect of Indian marriages is the procession of groom, known as

‘Baraat’ in Hindi. This procession includes the groom, and his relatives (that are

invited to the wedding) going from the groom’s house to the bride’s house or the

place where marriage is about to take place. The traditional Baraat has been a

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way of establishing one’s status into the society, and naturally the grander the

Baraat is, the more respected the family of the groom becomes. The northern

states in India, especially U.P, Bihar and Rajasthan have a peculiar way of

showing off when it comes to marriage processions, ways that might appear

absurd and ridiculous to those who are uninitiated in the ways of these people.

One such way that is widely accepted, is coveted and is usually in demand is to

decorate the Baraat with lights that are carried by people on their heads. These

people carry consoles made of tube lights and LEDs on their head and walk

alongside the Baraat on either side of the procession. These lights are powered

by generators that are carried at the back of the Baraat and support the lights,

the sound system and the rest of the equipments. So as the attendees of the

Baraat dance and enjoy the procession, they are blissfully unaware of the hired

people flanking them on either side since they are only a part of the decoration.

Let us now look at the problem that the present contraption attempts to solve.

As with other things that are considered as status symbols, the Baraat is also

judged for its success or failure on the basis of it being magnanimous. It is

obvious that a grander Baraat uplifts one’s status and reaffirms one’s position in

the society. Hence it is not a surprising fact that annually millions of Rupees are

spent on marriage processions. Huge and intimidating Baraats are coveted for

but this means that bigger the Baraat is, shinier the lights are and louder the

speakers are and heavier the equipment is for the hired people to carry. This

inevitably places a limit on the dazzle that one can create. As to have more lights

one needs more number of hired people since the amount of load a single

person can carry is ultimately limited by his physical capabilities. Past a certain

point this might defeat the purpose of the Baraat as with too many hired people,

the number of these people might exceed the number of people who are

actually part of the Baraat.

The solution to the problem is inspired from an everyday occurrence. As is

common experience, it is easier to pull a certain load on trolleys than it is to carry

the same load on the head or in hands. The present contraption is a specially

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designed trolley that is made for the purpose of decorating the Baraat. Since the

light equipments are mounted on the trolleys, they can be made bigger and

more intricate in design. This opens up a whole new area in wedding planning

and design that can be an opportunity for many designers and craftsmen. It also

means that the employers of these people, the family of the person getting

married, have a bigger range of choices available at their disposal.

Image 6.9: Jugaad marriage lighting trolleys

There are certain added advantages as well. Since the trolleys are specially

designed for the occasion, and since the hired people are only pulling the trolleys

now, they can themselves be used as decorations. By designing flamboyant

clothes for these people, one can increase the appeal of the overall procession.

One more disadvantage of carrying the lights on head is that if one wants to

carry a heavier designer, it is hard to carry the design even if two or more people

carry it since such a feat requires extra ordinary synchronization and care. But

when the people just have to carry the trolley, the load can be shared amongst

many people and hence the size of the designs can be made as big as one is

willing to make them.

Jugaad Mobile Sharpener

One of the prominent features of developing countries such as countries in Asia

and Africa is their ability to recycle and reuse most of the artefacts they possess,

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even after the artefacts are damaged by repairing them whenever they can. For

example the tendency of Indians to store old polythene bags with the hope of

using them later to store some odd thing. As opposed to the ‘west’ where the

motto is ‘to end it rather than mend it’, we have a habit of fixing broken things as

much and as long as we can before throwing them away. This tendency partly

arises because we are not privileged enough to throw things away. In scarcity

even the broken things matter. They matter because they can be fixed and used

again. It thus makes logical sense to possess a broken thing rather than own

nothing at all as the broken thing can, in principle, be mended and used, if not

for the original purpose then for some similar purpose. In such a society the

people who are good at fixing things become particularly valuable. And we are

not talking about repair mechanics of relatively heavy machinery, like cars of

bikes. Even those who can fix a blunt blade are valuable.

Now let us look at the problem that the present contraption tries to solve.

Households across India have the tendency to cook their meals at home as

compared to going out to restaurants to eat. Though there might be occasional

outside eating, the major proportion of food consumed is home made. The task

of making food is manifold and comprises of sub-tasks such as preparing the

dough, cutting the vegetables and baking or frying stuff. As with most

equipment, those that are used in the kitchen are also prone to damage over

time, damages that can be fixed. One common occurrence is the blades used for

cutting vegetables and meat getting blunt. If sharpened properly by a dexterous

hand, these knives can be used again, thus avoiding the necessity to buy new

knives. The process of sharpening knives is a well known one. Sharpening knives

using grinding stones is not a new technology; people have been doing it for

long. What the present contraption aims at is to make this technology mobile so

that it is more accessible and easily available. What one needs for a machine that

sharpens knives is a grinding stone, a mechanism that rotates the stone and an

energy source that operates the mechanism. Let us look at two contraptions that

solve the same problem in two different ways that have the same underlying

principle.

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In a jugaad mobile sharpener, the grinding wheel is mounted on a shaft that is

driven by a set of sprockets that are designed in order to increase the RPM of the

input. The input is provided by the human power of the person operating the

machine. There are two sets of sprockets that serve the purpose of increasing

the RPM; these are required for two reasons. First, for blades to be effectively

sharpened, the RPM needs to be high. Only when the RPM is the material on the

blades would be removed sharpening them. Second, the human operating the

machine would not generally be capable of producing the required RPM; hence

the sprockets are designed in such a way that for the available input, the

required output is produced. The contraption can be made mobile very easily by

mounting it on a bicycle or a similar machine that can carry the contraption from

one place to another. The energy transfer is achieved through the chains

connecting the sprockets.

Image 6.10: Jugaad mobile sharpener

Jugaad Mobile Edge-breaker

This contraption is very much like the previous one. It is just the mechanized

version of the first one. Here too we have a grinding stone that is used to

sharpen tools. The mechanism of energy transfer includes the belt pulley system

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that connects the power source to the rotating shaft on which the grinding tool

is mounted. Since the whole contraption is mounted on the motorized vehicle, it

is obvious that the source of energy used is the energy derived from the engine

of the vehicle. Hence a few changes to the chassis, a few more shafts and

connections, and there you have it. This is a mobile contraption that will come to

your doorstep to sharpen your knives.

Image 6.11: Jugaad mobile edge-breaker

Jugaad Room Heater

The winters in the northern India are particularly harsh. As the mercury drops to

temperatures near zero, one looks at various ways to warm the body up. As

opposed to the developed countries where a systematic and developed system

of centralized heating and cooling exists, population in developing countries has

to resort to rudimentary means to achieve the same. The present contraption is

one such attempt to generate heat. Let us now look at the contraption.

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Image 6.12: Jugaad room heater

The contraption comprises of four basic parts. These are the gas cylinder, the

wick, the reflector surface and the protective cover. Let us look at each part in

further detail:

The cylinder is a usual LPG cylinder that one uses in their homes for cooking

purposes. Though meant to be operated with standardized stove and

distribution equipment, the cylinder can be modified so that it can be used for

other purposes as well. It can be used for purposes such as heating a room. The

cylinder represents the energy source in the contraption.

The wick or the meshed structure visible in the middle where the flame is

enclosed is the wick. The main purpose of this part is to contain flames and

provide sufficient area for the fuel to burn. The structure of the wick, only

borrowed here not designed personally, ensures diffused gas distribution and

this leads to better fuel combustion.

The main propose of the reflector surface is to direct the energy produced in one

specific direction. The wick acts as a diffused energy source and hence dissipates

energy in all the directions equally. But as per the requirements of the room

directional heating might be preferable. The reflector surface ensures the heat

reaches where it is required the most.

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Since the wick is burning LPG at a high rate, the surface temperature of the wick

is pretty high in itself. If touched directly, one might get severe burns and skin

damages. The protective cover is put in place to ensure that such accidents do

not happen. It is essential to ensure safety and security in such contraptions

since they would be used inside house where there is a possibility of exposure to

children and elders.

Jugaad Irrigation Companion (Bidi)

In absence of irrigation pumps and other such equipment available in plenty in

the developed market environment, one has to come up with novel means of

problem solving that solves specific problems, are relatively inexpensive to

fabricate and can be made using things that are easily accessible in the local

environment. The present contraption aims to solve one such problem of

irrigation and pumping. Let us look at the contraption now.

Image 6.13: Jugaad bidi

As can be seen the contraption is a relatively simple one. It is made up of three

basic parts. The parts are the concave water retainer, the reinforcing bars and

the manoeuvring strings. Let us now look at each part in detail.

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This part is made locally from wood, cardboard, sheet metal and some dexterity

of the hand. The flat pieces of card board or wood are put in the desired shape

and then are covered with sheet metal that is beaten using hammers till the

desired shape is acquired. The product at hand is then capable of holding water

in it without any significant leaks. Usually the base of the retainer is reinforced

using some type of rubber that allows for better mounting for other parts on the

retainer.

Due to its layered structure and comparatively fragile nature, the water retainer

might not be able to bear significant loads. For example, when fully loaded the

retainer can hold around 8-10 litres of water which is equivalent to 8-10 kg

loading, which the retainer might not be able to support. Hence reinforcement in

the shape of bars is provided that can make the structure sturdier. Apart from

making the structure sturdy, the bars also ensures that the structure does not

deform under heavy loading. It also ensures that during failure, the

reinforcement bars would fail before the retainer and hence save the retainer

from getting destroyed. The reinforcing structure made out of bars also provides

multiple mounting points for manoeuvring strings. The reinforcing bars are

usually made from locally available materials. This has two fold advantages. One,

the contraption is easy and cheap to make. Two, when damaged the contraption

is easier to repair since all the materials are readily available. Usually some

strong tree branch or some similar structure is used for making the

reinforcement bars.

These are the strings that the farmer uses to operate the contraption. They are

made from locally available materials such as nylon strings or flexible twigs.

There are two strings on each side of the structure. This means there is one set

of strings for each operator. The operators can swing the contraption using these

strings and obtain the desired output from the device.

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Jugaad Separator Fan

In societies that are basically of agrarian nature, such as the societies in the

developing countries, innovations that improve the standard of living of farmers

and help in increasing the productivity are of vital importance. More importantly,

innovations that help reduce the amount of labour required for a unit of

production can be very helpful. The process of agriculture, spanning from

preparation of land and seeds for sowing, to rearing and harvesting of crops, has

many sub-processes that can be independently improved upon. Being multi-

layered process the opportunity to intervene at any intermediate stage is

significant. Such interventions can improve the overall quality of agriculture. Let

us now look at the problem that the present contraption aims to solve.

Once the crops have been harvested, there still remains the task of separating

the grain from the hay. In crops such as wheat and barley, this process takes up a

significant amount of time as the proportion of hay as compared to the grains is

huge. The present solution to separating the hay from the grain is the one you

must have seen in old Hindi movies. In this technique the mixture of hay and

grain is made to fall from a height while some amount of wind is blowing. The

hay being lighter than the grains is carried away with the wind, leaving just the

grains behind. But this technique has a very obvious flaw. Since the process relies

heavily on the wind that blows, absence of wind implies that the work will stop

and the farmer would be thrown off schedule. The present contraption aims at

removing this dependence on natural factor that leads to uncertainties leading

to inevitable financial losses.

Almost all of us are familiar with the concept of fans. These are machines that

induce artificial winds in otherwise stationary environments. The present

contraption works on similar principles. A horizontal fan, operated by human

power, is used to induce winds that can be used to separate hay from the grain.

There are three basic parts to the contraption. These parts are – the fan, the

driving mechanism and the driving source. Let us look at the contraption and its

parts in detail.

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The fan is a metallic structure that is fashioned out of sheet metal, preferably

steel. The blades are curved appropriately to generate optimum amount of wind

that can be used to separate grain from the hay. Since the sheet metal and tools

required to make the fan are locally available, the accessibility of the contraption

increases dramatically. An added advantage is that the skill level required to

manufacture the fan is not very high, hence the fan can be manufactured locally

without much help from outside.

The main concern behind developing a driving mechanism is to provide

rotational motion to the fan for given driving source. The rotational speed of the

input and the rotational speed of the output might be mismatched, in such

cases; the purpose of driving mechanism is to provide for ways to allow for such

mismatch. For the present contraption, the driving mechanism comprises of

gears that increase the RPM of the input. The gears are borrowed from other

machines that have existed before.

The driving force is the agent that provides the power for the fan to rotate and

induce winds that can be used for the desired separation. For a generic enough

design, any source of power can be used to power the machine. But the given

contraption is designed to use human power for powering the machine. A handle

is used that can be rotated by the person operating the contraption and the

human acts as the driving force for the present contraption.

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Image 6.14: Jugaad separator fan

Jugaad Boring

In a country such as India, where the public amenities’ systems are not so well

developed, it falls on the shoulders of the common man to arrange for basic

necessities such as water and public sanitation. At a time when the developed

world takes these things for granted, the general population of countries such as

India is in a constant battle against many forces to obtain these basic necessities.

One of the most basic necessities is drinking water. One of the easiest ways to

obtain water is to tap into the ground water resources.

Presently existing technologies in the area include various methods of boring in

the ground to sufficient depths so that fresh uncontaminated water is accessible.

There can be multiple ways of boring, most of them highly mechanized and

hence highly powerful. These motorized methods are capable of drilling holes up

to hundreds, if not thousands, of feet and tap into ground water resources. The

ancient way of drilling a hole into the ground includes taking a shaft sharpened

at its front and rotating it which facilitates material removal. The mechanized

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ways do pretty much the same thing but the power that was previously provided

by the human workers is now given by a generator and motor or an internal

combustion engine. But since these methods are capital intensive, the human

powered method is still used in rural India to drill bores.

One advantage that motorized methods have over the manual one is the

mechanism they use to remove the drilled up dirt. Let us look at the problem in

detail. When one attempts to drill a hole in earth, one is essentially removing dirt

and soil from beneath and it has to go somewhere. There is no effective way this

problem is solved in the manual process and hence the depth of drilling possible

is highly limited by the efficiency of the workers to take care of the removed

earth. The mechanized way has an ingenious way to deal with this problem. In

the motorized way, while the drilling is being done, water is pumped in the bore

through a concentric pipe. This helps in drilling in two ways. The first part is that

the pumped in pressurized water takes away dirt with it when it comes out. The

second advantage is that water mixed with dirt produces a muck that acts

effectively as a lubricant for the drilling process. Both these advantages are not

enjoyed by the manual process as there is no mechanism for pumping water in

while the drilling is being done.

The present contraption aims to find a middle ground between the two. This

jugaad technique is both a design intervention and process intervention. What

the process aims to do is to still use manual labour to drill holes but also use

pressurized water to aid the process of drilling bores. Making this slight though

significant intervention in the process improves the performance in all possible

ways. Due to the intervention the amount of manual labour required in the

process decreases, the time required for drilling a single bore decreases and as a

result, the cost of drilling over a period of time for the consumer decreases as

well. This happens as the service provider is able to provide the service to more

number of customers due to lesser amount of time required for each drilling. Let

us now look at the equipment used.

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This obviously is a basic necessity for the process. A centrifugal pump is used to

pressurize water and pump it in the drilled hole. The water that is sent into the

hole comes out with sand and dirt. This muddy extract is allowed to settle. After

the sedimentation has occurred, the water is recycled and again used for the

same purpose. The pump used has a diesel/kerosene generator attached to it

which rotates the pump blades.

The drilling tool is a sharp conical tool attached at the front of a long steel pipe

that is rotated manually to drill the hole. The tool is usually made of stronger

metal alloys such as HSS (high speed steel). The tool has a through hole in the

centre that allows for water to flow through it. It also allows for muddy extract to

be pumped out. The extended pipe has grooving made on it where the wrenches

can be attached to rotate the pipe.

Image 6.15: Jugaad boring

Jugaad Diesel Fired Oven

Traditionally small and medium enterprises in India used coal as the primary

source of energy. Over the years problems with the availability of good quality

coal, problems with the storage of coal, the problem of coal fired ovens slowing

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down production etc motivated these firms to first switch to diesel fired ovens

and eventually LPG in place of diesel. Some people are still reluctant to use LPG

owing to the problem of storing LPG cylinders due to lack of space and also

irregularities in the supply of LPG cylinders. They are also concerned about the

additional safety precautions when using LPG and don’t want to invest in safety

devices. They still stick to diesel fired ovens which operate on the energy of

diesel and are fuel efficient. In these ovens, heat is generated by oil fired burner

and transferred through heat exchanger. The air circulation is done with the help

of dynamically balanced blowers to achieve uniform temperature throughout the

inner chamber. Fully automated burners are fitted on the heat exchanger for

burning of the diesel. These ovens are designed with precision to reduce running

cost over electrical conveyor ovens.

Now let us look at the present contraption. Here a makeshift diesel fired oven

that has been made with the help of a motor, a blower, a burner and a container

carrying diesel. The burner is first lit. A few bricks are kept inside the burner

which when heated sufficiently catches fire. Diesel is poured into a pipe with a

funnel fitted on top. The diesel flows through the pipe and collects in the inner

chamber of the machine. When the motor is turned on the blower attached to it

blows the air directly to it which then produces the flame. The diesel is poured

slowly and the air builds high pressure which helps in creating the flame. How

high the flame would be depends on the rate at which diesel is poured. The

machine is claimed to be safe and no proper safety precautions are taken.

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Image 6.16: Jugaad diesel-fired oven

Jugaad Gaadi

A very common rural sight in India is a jugaad vehicle transporting everything

right from people and livestock to agricultural produce. Jugaad is all about

improvisation. One can see a wide variety of jugaad vehicles, each one being an

improvised solution using unlikely parts. These vehicles are the truest

representative of the spirit of survival and innovation in India. This indomitable

spirit of innovation to overcome difficulties and obstructions and survive in the

face of adversity is reflected in the ingenuity and dexterity with which these

vehicles are made by the so-called casual unskilled workers.

Most of these local innovations are usually uncommon concoctions of

incompatible parts put together by local mechanics with no formal training. A

jugaad vehicle is a bit of every other vehicle. It is made by roughly assembling

available parts of other vehicles. What makes it so popular is the fact that it is

low cost and sometimes the fastest and the only mode of transport in some rural

parts of India. But a jugaad vehicle does come with its fair share of

disadvantages. Officially jugaad vehicles are banned in India. They do not

conform to any vehicular regulation. No safety norms are followed, brakes on

these vehicles are a recurring problem as they come from old vehicles and there

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are also no pollution control checks on them. These problems make a jugaad

vehicle not a very safe and reliable mode of transport.

Strangely in spite of all the safety concerns and a Supreme Court ban on them,

jugaad vehicles ply regularly flouting Court orders. Complicit law enforcers

openly allow poor labourers whose life depends on this, to ply these make-shift

vehicles. Across small towns and villages of some of the most populous states in

India, it is the jugaad vehicles that keep the rural economy on the move.

Image 6.17: Jugaad gaadi

The present contraption is actually a jugaad loader used to transport goods and

people. This has been made by cobbling together an old Rajdoot motorcycle and

a cart. The motorcycle has been modified into a three wheeler by welding it to a

cart. The vehicle runs on petrol and claims a mileage of 30 km per hour if loaded,

and 40 km otherwise. It operates on close lines with an autorickshaw in that it

has to maintain proper balance as it tends to move to the left while riding and a

proper balance has to be maintained all the time. The loader can carry 6-7

quintals per day helping the owner earn 600-700 rupees per day. It does the

work of a small vehicle like a rickshaw and can transport goods faster than it thus

saving a lot of time. But it does have its drawbacks. Since the loader is made out

of an old motorcycle the parts may pose problems every now and then. Though

the owner carries tools with him to repair the vehicle it may not always solve the

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problem. Also there is no indicator at the back raising road safety concerns.

Nevertheless, this rickety jugaad vehicle is an affordable and faster mode of

transportation of goods in the rural areas.

Jugaad Loader

A jugaad vehicle in India is nothing but a mechanical patchwork, odds and ends

perfectly cobbled together. It’s a low-cost innovation which suits the low income

of the people living mainly in the rural areas. Though often dismissed as just a

short-term fix and criticised for being badly designed and posing a threat to the

environment, one cannot but ignore the utility and the affordability of this kind

of improvisation. The present contraption is an attempt to solve an issue that

bothers small-time business owners who have to deliver goods of different

nature on a daily basis.

Image 6.18: Jugaad loader

This jugaad vehicle is actually a scooter converted into a loader. The front part is

actually an old scooter whose parts have been replaced with those of an auto

rickshaw. The scooter engine has been shifted to the back as per the maker’s

convenience. The scooter is attached to an iron frame at the back where the

goods to be carried can be rested. This is what makes it a loader. This vehicle is

mainly a replacement for human labourers. It can transport goods in much less

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time than what a labourer would take. This way it works better for the business

owner as the labour charge is also saved. Delivery of goods can be done more

easily at the convenient time of the customers. It can also be repaired very easily

by any scooter mechanic. It gives mileage a little less than that given by a

scooter. After every 500 km it needs a bit of servicing for which 600 rupees is

charged.

Jugaad Water Heater

Some parts of India, especially the north, experience a hard winter. Unlike the

developed countries where modern conveniences like electric water heaters are

easily available, a sizable population of India still cannot afford gadgets to

provide them some relief from the biting cold. Thus comes into existence some

jugaad or the other which helps in solving everyday issues. The present

contraption is one such improvisation which attempts to heat water instantly in

the absence of an electric water heater.

Image 6.19: Jugaad water heater

The contraption mainly uses two batteries, a wire, broom sticks. The ‘skin’ of two

batteries is peeled off. Then keeping a gap of 3 inches between them they are

tied with the help of thick broomsticks in such a manner that the upper part of

both the cells is enclosed within the broomsticks leaving the lower half exposed.

A wire is then crisscrossed and attached to both the batteries and the exposed

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part of the batter is then immersed in water. The wire is then plugged on and the

process of heating starts. It takes about 5-8 minutes to heat the water. This

contraption is quite hazardous as it can accidentally cause electric shocks to

people using it. But it does serve the purpose of water heating with an initial

capital of just 10-15 rupees.

Jugaad Sarkanna

The process of farming involves a few vital steps. At first the soil is loosened

either with the help of a tractor or cattle. Loose soil makes it easy to plant the

seeds and is good for growing roots. Then the field is levelled. This is followed by

creation of earth banks and water channels and finally planting of seeds. A tool

that is commonly used to create earth banks is a trenching shovel. Trenching

shovels are designed for digging and clearing trenches. They feature a sharp,

pointed tip and square sides to produce clean trench walls and minimize

disruption of the surrounding soil. They are indispensable for laying irrigation

pipes, digging a compost trench, and removing deeply-rooted plants. The present

contraption is actually an improvised shovel which takes less time than a

trenching shovel even though it requires two people to do the work. Since man

power is not a problem for the people in the rural areas of India sarkanna is a

preferred tool.

A sarkanna consists of a shaft, a shovel head and a rope. The wooden shaft is

attached to the shovel which is also made of wood, using two screw joints

supported by a phase in the shovel. The edge of the shovel head is a bit curved

to facilitate the motion and prevent the head from getting stuck in the soil.

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Image 6.20: Jugaad sarkanna

There are two holes on each side of the shovel head through which the rope is

connected to it. One person uses the shaft to push the sarkanna against the

ground and another pulls the same towards himself with the help of the rope.

This contraption takes much less time and effort and hence very useful.

Jugaad Turbine

A large percentage of rural Indian homes do not have the benefits of electricity in

their homes. There are many rural areas in India that have either no access to

electricity or receive only an unreliable power supply from the national grid.

Electrification programmes have not met their targets due to the insufficiency of

energy resources to meet the requirements of the large population, and

inadequate infrastructure for electricity generation and distribution. One can

generate one’s own electricity using resources available in the area of demand.

Depending on the resources the options can be hydro, wind, solar and biomass.

Among all of them hydro is the cheapest and large amount of power can be

generated at a relatively low cost.

The most common type of hydroelectric power plant uses a dam on a river to

store water in a reservoir. Water released from the reservoir flows through a

turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to produce electricity. A

water turbine is a rotary engine that converts kinetic and potential energy of

water into mechanical work. Water turbines were developed in the 19th century

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and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now they are

mostly used for electric power generation. Water turbines are mostly found in

dams to generate electric power from water kinetic energy. The force of falling

water pushing against the turbine's blades causes the turbine to spin. A water

turbine is much like a windmill, except the energy is provided by falling water

instead of wind. The turbine converts the kinetic energy of falling water into

mechanical energy. But many Indian villages do not have water bodies close by.

They have to resort to other sources of water like rain.

Let us take a look at the model of a turbine that can prove to be very helpful for

villages where rivers or lakes are missing. For this turbine to function rain water

has to be collected and used. The machine has wheels attached to it. If water is

made to fall on the rotating wheels it will eventually help in generating electricity

It can also double as a wheat threshing machine to separate grains from husks

and stalks. It can also be used to extract oil from seeds.

Image 6.21: Jugaad turbine

The machine is basically a wooden structure with a stand to place a water tank

above it. There is also a fan attached to it. When water is made to fall on the

machine the fan would start running which in turn would rotate the wheels.

Rotation of the wheels would cause a shaft to rotate which is further attached to

the floor of the machine and would help in grinding wheat grains. There are a

few gears one of which can be used to grind grains and another can be used to

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run a water pump. The wooden boards used in the machine can help run a

dynamo. This machine can be used for multiple purposes to solve everyday

issues in a village. The project design and technology have good replication

potential. Projects like this need support from the government. Financial

constraints prevent projects like this from seeing the light of the day.

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Chapter 7

Agricultural Alternatives

Farmers from some of the rural areas of India were interviewed on the different

Jugaad ideas and processes they have come up with. They shared information,

which were recorded, about the need for the innovations they have made, how

they work, what materials they use and how the products have benefitted them.

Koop

Koop is a very useful contraption for the farmers. It is used to store straws on the

field itself. It saves the time and effort needed to carry the straws to the farmer’s

place which also lacks enough space to store the straws.

The materials used to make a koop include three green bamboos about 20 feet

long, a 20 metre long rope, 15 bunches of sarpat (dhanni), payar and polythene.

The farmers spend around 80 rupees per bamboo. The rope and the polythene

cost them three rupees per metre and seventeen rupees per square feet

respectively. A koop once made can be used for the entire farming season from

May to February after which it becomes useless.

One corner of the field is used to build the koop. The farmers plant three green

bamboos in a triangle and tie them with a rope to keep them in place. Then

sarpat is wrapped tight in two layers following which the straw is pressed and

adjusted so that the koop is filled with maximum amount of straw. The number

of layers depends upon the height of the bamboo. The top of the koop is covered

with a polythene so that rain water cannot enter. The farmers then add some

clay on to it to avoid displacement of the polythene. A temporary hole is made in

the lower portion of the koop so that the straw can be taken out easily.

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Mai

Mai is basically a large and heavy piece of wood used for leveling the field. It is

attached to a tractor and does the work of any factory made land leveling

equipment.

A mai is made from the wood of neem or bamboor as these trees are insect free

and their wood does not erode easily. A farmer first buys a tree, cuts it and then

takes it to the carpenter who shapes and polishes it into a mai. It is usually 10-12

feet in length and 12 inches in width. The more a mai is used the faster it wears

away. It is then taken to the carpenter again. It is ideally kept in the shade to

avoid direct sunlight.

Mai is quite expensive for farmers. They have to spend around 4000 rupees per

mai. The tree itself costs around 2000 rupees, besides carpenter fee which is

1500 rupees. Some money goes into cutting tree, transport etc.

,

Image 7.1 : Mai in the field

Sprinkler Irrigation

Irrigation, as we all know, is the artificial supply of water to the land or soil. It

assists in the growing of agricultural crops especially in times of inadequate

rainfall. Sprinkler irrigation is a method of applying irrigation water where water

is distributed through a system of pipes usually by pumping. Pipes are spread all

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over the field. Sprinklers are attached to the pipes laid in fields to ensure uniform

supply of water in the field. The pipes cost them 15 rupees per metre.

Image 7.2: Motor on which sprinklers run

Image 7.3: Demonstration of sprinkler irrigation

Tube Well and Hose

A tube well is a type of water well in which a long 100–200 millimetres (3.9–7.9

in) wide stainless steel tube or pipe is bored into an underground aquifer. The

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lower end is fitted with a strainer, and a pump at the top lifts water for irrigation.

The pump is driven by a large diesel engine.

Its average life is 50 years. During this life span if any problem occurs the farmer

himself repairs and in case of a major problem a mechanic comes to the rescue.

Its fuel consumption is 1 litre per hour. It requires 5 hours for complete irrigation

of approximately 1 acre field. A tube well costs approximately 20000 rupees.

Farmers might have to spend 300 rupees or so from time to time for proper

maintenance.

A hose is a conduit which connects the tube well to the field for irrigation. It is

generally used when agricultural fields are quite a distance away from the tube

well. It is usually 3-5 inch thick and is made of rubber. It can supply water up to a

distance of 1000 feet from the tube well. It might burst after using it for a while.

Image 7.4: Hose

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Image 7.5: Tube well

Hand Blower

A hand blower’s work is to provide a large flow of air to the furnace which a

blacksmith uses to smelt iron. This heats up the furnace faster and helps in

saving the blacksmith’s time. The different parts of a hand blower include a fan, a

0.5 meter iron pipe, 3 bearings (gujari) and a handle. The fan fitted to bearing 1 is

connected to bearing 2. Bearing 2 is in turn attached to a handle which is bearing

3. When the handle is spun bearing 2 starts moving which in turn rotates the fan

and thus air is blown. The average life of a hand blower is 10 years. The

maintenance cost is around thousand rupees. The bearings get damaged and

need to be replaced every four years.

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Image 7.6: Furnace

Image 7.7: Iron pipe

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Image 7.8: Fan

Image 7.9: Handle to rotate the fan

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Chapter 8

Jugaad Workshop

A three-day workshop was held on jugaad innovations made by people in the

rural areas of India. Students from KTH, Aalto University and IITK collaborated

and worked as three different teams. The workshop aimed at the development

of new designs by students to provide a cost efficient solution related to jugaad

that would help in improving an existing jugaad product or idea. The students

were shown videos which presented different jugaad innovations made by the

local people of Kanpur. Each of the teams had to select a concept and conduct

field visits to have a better understanding of the jugaad ideas. The students had

to identify the problems related to the jugaad ideas and work towards finding

solutions to those problems. Team 1 selected the sarkanna. Teams 2 and 3

selected winnowing fan and multi jugaad kit respectively. The following reports

were prepared by each of the teams on the Jugaad product of their choice.

Sarkanna

Background

To map the users’ needs and gain knowledge about how the current sarkanna is

used, we went on a field trip to a village near Rasoolabad. The observations

made at the field trip were summarized in terms of; the overall working steps at

the farm, how the sarkanna is used, the impact it has on the user, and key

problems that needs to be improved.

Steps Included in Farming

The first step in the farming process is loosening the soil which can either be

done using cattle or a tractor. Secondly the field is levelled using cattle with a

levelling tool. Afterwards, earth banks and water channels is created to enable

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planting of the seeds and irrigation of the field. This is done during the same

step. Lastly, the seeds are planted in the earth banks.

Figure 8.1: Steps followed in the farming process

How the Sarkanna Is Used

Initially, the farmers draw lines on the ground to mark where the earth banks are

going to be created. Then two persons use the sarkanna to create the earth

banks. The process is described in the pictures below.

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Image 8.1 Demonstration of sarkanna

Current Sarkanna - Old version

The sarkanna consists of three components; a shaft, a shovel head and a rope.

The shaft and the shovel head is both made of wood. The shaft is attached to the

shovel using two screw joints supported by a phase in the shovel.

Image 8.2: Shaft attached to shovel head

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Image 8.3: Rope connected to shovel head

Since the edge of the shovel head is blunt and made of wood, it won’t damage

the existing crops or root vegetables, unlike steel would do, for instance. The

shape of the shovel heads edge is slightly curved to facilitate the motion and

prevent the shovel head from getting stuck in the soil. The rope is connected to

the shovel head through holes which are located on each side.

Image 8.4: Shovel head

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Image 8.5: Sarkanna

Current Sarkanna - New version

The newest version of sarkanna had a T-shaped handle included on the top of

the shaft to improve the grip in order to make it easier to apply the force needed

and make it more comfortable to use.

Image 8.6: T-shaped handle

The sarkanna is a more efficient tool than the traditional shovel since the shovel

head covers a wider area. The fact that this movement is less exhausting implies

that even larger areas can be covered in one stroke. Therefore, using the

sarkanna is a fast method compared to traditional shovelling.

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Observations of the Usage

Sweaty hands leads to a slippery grip which can cause blisters on the

hands of the user

The work is carried out in a forward and sideway-leaning position which

leads to back pain when using it for a long time.

The workers alternate between pushing and pulling

There is no need for decreasing the number of men operating the

sarkanna since manpower is not a problem.

Image 8.7: Blisters on hand caused by a slippery grip

Key Problems

The current sarkanna requires a lot of ergonomically poor working

positions since both the length of the shaft as well as the length of the

rope is limited.

The grip is basically non-existent so farmers get blisters easily.

It requires precise coordination and balance of pushing and pulling

movements, otherwise the dimensions of the bank will not be optimal.

The rope will wear out.

Ideation

We started the ideation process straight after the field trip. First, as described

before, we wrote down needs, focus areas and possible features to be improved.

Second, we had a brainstorming session, which was held in the IIT aircraft

hangar. During the session we limited the time and shared our ideas to be built

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on by other team members. Later we grouped the ideas into affinity diagram and

listed out the least feasible solutions.

Image 8.8: Team members at work

Scope of Intervention

Based on the brainstorming and the affinity diagram we stated our scope of

intervention.

Improve the ergonomics

Optimize the weight of the tool

Decrease the strain caused by regular use of this tool on the back

and shoulders

Improve the grip

Add adjustability

Decrease friction between the edge of the shovel head and the ground

Optimize the width of the shovel head

Possibility of alternate ways of earth banking

Possibility of combining activities of other processes (loosening the soil,

levelling

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the ground, banking he earth, planting the seeds) into one product

Concepts

The brainstorming session led to the development of three different concepts as

illustrated in the following three images.

Image 8.9: Concept 1 Image 8.10: Concept 2

Image 8.11: Concept 3

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Final Concept

The best features from the different concepts were combined when creating the

final product design. A 3D illustration of the concept can be seen below.

I

Image 8.12: The final concept

The new sarkanna is dual shafted in order to make the working position less

forward and sideway-leaning, which is better in an ergonomic perspective. For

the same reason, the length of the shafts are extended with 100 mm to get a

working height which is adapted to the average length according to

anthropometric measurements. The shaft is also thinner than the current shafts

to prevent it from getting heavy since one shaft is added to the design. However,

the fact that it is dual shafted will still make the sarkanna durable since there is

two of them distributing the forces that occur. It will also enable the user to use

larger muscle groups since the working position will be straight forward instead

of leaning sideways.

A handle bar is mounted on top of the two shafts to make the construction more

stable and provide a good grip for the user. The width of the handle bar is based

on the average shoulder width according to anthropometric measurements, so

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that the user can grip the handle bar when having their arms straight ahead. The

handles are covered with fabric that will absorb the sweat from the hands which

will make the grip less slippery. This feature will decrease the risk of getting

blisters on the hands when using it for a long time. An alternative solution for

this problem could be the use of rubber hose from

The edge of the shovel head is slightly wave shaped and the side towards the

ground is curved. This will decrease the friction between the shovel head and the

ground due to the increased ability of adapting to the roughness of the ground.

Therefore, it will be easier to overcome the static friction which will occur before

the motion can begin. To provide a better grip for the user pulling the rope, this

concept contains two ropes with a wooden handle in between. The placement of

the handle is adjustable using knots at different length.

Image 8.13: Prototyping process

Winnowing Fan

Background

The winnowing fan is used by farmers to separate the husk from the grains

during harvest season. The unsorted rice grain and husk mixture is poured

in front of the fan. This will then blow the lightweight husks away from the

grain.

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The current fan is made in metal by a mechanic and is produced in small series.

The gears are made from spare parts used in tractors and the framework is

made by various metal scrap parts. The cost is 4000 rupees and this makes it a

large investment by the farmer. Often the fan is shared by many people in the

village and the owner can rent it to his neighbours. This negates some of the

cost but not all. A village worker can for example work an entire day for 50 Rs.

The fan is expected to last 10 years. This amounts to an annual cost of 400 Rs.

This means that the fan can be considered to cost 400 Rs a year or 8 work days

annually. From this we can conclude that man hours and maintenance is

negligible compared to the initial investment.

Image 8.14: Grain and husk

Method

The project was initiated with a presentation of videos of Indian inhabitants

with their jugaad innovations which gave a brief understanding of the

product's properties and allowed the group to make a selection for the field

visits.

Since the winnowing fan jugaad showed much promise and still had obvious

room for improvement, this was the jugaad the team chose to progress with.

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After meeting the farmers and seeing the fan in action we could observe the

following;

Dust was blowing everywhere, this posed a health issue.

Much of the grain fell on the ground.

There was no natural way to package the grain after processing.

The fan blades were rotating freely and posed a serious safety issue

The fan was made in a mechanical workshop and most repairs

could not be done in the village

Image 8.15: Demonstration of winnowing fan and separation of chaff

Concept Generation

First of all a brainstorming session was conducted. All different kinds of

concepts were developed. Since it was important to follow certain guidelines

to keep the product a jugaad, some concepts were sorted out almost

immediately. Some of the remaining concepts are presented in the following

paragraphs. The concepts are solving different problems and therefore the

final concept will consist of a combination of partial-solution-concepts.

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The Bicycle Fan

The farmers often prefer sturdy metal designs, but generally lack the ability to

work it in the village. The bicycle fan is made mainly from metal but requires

no metal reworking. By removing some of the back spooks, the remaining

spooks can be used as a frame for the fan blades. This concept also has some

varieties; pedalling standing upright using one foot, pedalling sitting down

using both feet (two different seating possibilities) and replacing the pedal

with a handle and winding the fan using one hand.

Image 8.16: Bicycle fan, concept 1

Image 8.17: Bicycle fan, concept 2

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Image 8.18: Bicycle fan, concept 3

The Natural Materials Fan

In order to make the fan as cheap as possible and available for as much

people as possible, this fan is made out of all natural materials, using material

such as bamboo and palm

Image 8.19: Natural material fan

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Image 8.20: Natural material fan made from bamboo

The Chaff Funnel

This is a funnel that is to be placed above the fan, hence enabling it to

conduct the process with only one person. The funnel is going to be provided

with a slot to be able to regulate the amount of chaff provided.

Image 8.21: Chaff funnel

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The Tube

The tube is an additional sorting feature which separates the grain from the

husk more obviously, hence not needing the person sitting at the end of the

process whisking away the husk that did not get separated using the fan. The

tube should be made of a rug which is made of sarkanda rugs, available in

the village and costs about 15 Rs. The bottom of the tube should be porous

and there should be a slot on the top. The tube is to be placed horizontally

with the fan in the same end as the slot and the stand should preferably be

made out of another natural material.

Image 8.22: Tube

The Slide

A wooden board is placed the same way as a slide facing the direction of the

fan. At the end of the slide it is possible to place a bag or similar to collect the

grains, as the grains are falling down the slide and the husk is blown over the

slide using the fan.

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Image 8.23: Slide

Concept Evaluation & Prototyping

A meeting was held, together with stakeholders and professors, where the

concepts were discussed and evaluated. Using lists of pros and cons for each

concept and taking all inputs received into consideration, the bicycle fan and

the tube were chosen as the concepts to combine and prototype.

For the prototype, bicycle parts were collected. Some of the spokes were

removed and the remaining spokes taped together in pairs to create blades.

Different pairs of spokes, i.e. different blades were tested to evaluate the

amount of wind produced. When the blade architecture had been chosen, a

frame was built to keep the whole product stable and finally the pedal was

replaced with a handle. The frame was joined by MMA welding. This method

will not be available to the farmers, but due to the lack of time and proper

scrap resources it was used to finalize the prototype.

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Image 8.24: Spokes being removed and taped together

Image 8.25: Bicycle part after creating blades

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Image 8.26: Frame-making

Image 8.27: Welding process

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Image 8.28: The prototype

Discussion

The bicycle fan generates enough wind to separate the grain and husk but the

capacity is reduced. Since the price of this construction is so significantly

lower than the current design, the village may build additional ones. The wind

tunnel concept reduces the personnel needed and operating several units

simultaneously is not a problem.

It may be possible to instead of removing some spokes, to rearrange them,

hence resulting in twice as many blades. Another possibility is to create the

blades without removing or rearranging any spokes. When building the

prototype it was learnt that the part of the blade closest to the shaft was not

needed to be covered. That would save a lot of time and work for the person

building the jugaad. This could also potentially enable the user to create the

jugaad without destroying the bike, but simply disassemble parts to be used.

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Future Work

Improve ergonomics for the labourers, potentially by using legs to

pedal

Examine better blade designs

Finding a way to alter the angle of the blade

Standardized way to build a support structure, not using MMA welding

Multi Jugaad Kit 2000

Background

This report is the result of the project TED, Technology Economy Design, where

students from KTH, Aalto University and IITK collaborated to design a solution

related to jugaad, low costs solutions that improves or develops an existing

product in an intelligent way.

The material provided for this task was videos of 15 concepts with jugaad.

Each of the videos presented different ideas and products that the local people

of Kanpur invented. These solutions solve problems related to the two

segments mobility and agriculture.

Selection of Jugaad Concept

All the jugaad concepts were divided into the three categories; household,

commercial and agriculture in an affinity map. . Through analysis and discussion

we decided to choose a concept in which three concepts are combined. These

are the manual battery charger, the “ jugaduu pankha” and concepts with the

knife sharpener. All the concepts had the same mechanism which was the

rotational motion.

The manual battery charger uses the bicycle mechanism for pedalling the belt

drive circuit for the alternator. The concept rotational motion is driven by hand.

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Image 8.29: Manual battery charger

The “jugaduu pankha” is a fan that is used to remove the grain from the husk

using a gear mechanism that is driven by hand in a rotational motion.

Image 8.30: Jugaadu pankha

“The jugaad sharpener” is using a bicycle mechanism where the rotational

motion is driven by hand. At the same time another user sharpens the knives.

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Field Visit

In order to gain a better understanding of the problems involved we

conducted two site visits. The sites were visited to make observations on “the

jugaadu pankha” and “the manual battery charger”. The observation from “the

jugaadu pankha” visit gave the team a better understanding of the effort

needed to operate the fan, insights regarding safety, ease of making, efficiency

and costs.

From the observations of the “manual battery charger” it was revealed

that this Jugaad does not actually charge a battery, it is however used to check

if the alternator has potential to charge a battery.

The village had no power grid or any stand-alone power supply system

whatsoever. Another observation was that the village had many children and

there was no school in the area, meaning that the kids were not doing anything

productive. Common for both site visits were that the jugaads were made by

experts in their field which means that they had such good knowledge about

their tools and machines that they eventually evolved them to a jugaad.

Method: Idea generation

From the field visits and observations we saw problems areas that needed to be

improved. These areas are energy, efficiency, safety, cost and ease of

making. In order to understand the needs of the users we made an empathy

map with the four categories feel, see, think and do. The idea is to define our

observations in terms of what we felt, saw and what we think the user do and

think about each of the problem areas.

In an activity map we defined the steps of activities the user will take when

operating the fan. For instance the user will look for open space, prepare

equipment and grains to be cleansed. In the process of separating the grain

from the husk the required manpower is at least two to three persons since one

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is rotating the lever, one drops the grain from a height and the third person

sweeps the husks. We set up a scenario of the target user in a persona with

paddy farmer Biljoy Manzhi from United Bengal. He lives with his wife and three

kids in a mud home and lives in a community living where common natural

resources are shared with other villagers. Since his financial status is below

the poverty line he understands the potential of using natural resources and

to adapt technology.

Concept generation

We conducted an idea building activity, which resulted in 3 potential concepts.

The method was carried out with six persons where ideas are passed on and

discussed within the team. We also used the 6-3-5 method which is similar to

the idea building activity. In this method each team member drew at least three

ideas in 5 minutes and then passed it on to the next person who can change or

add features to the ideas.

The mechanism in the first concept consists of a windmill attached to the

system to achieve rotational motion when the bicycle moves forward. Through

a dynamo connected to a battery this windmill is generating electricity when

the user is cycling. The stored energy is used for electrical devices or products

that run on electricity.

The second concept is built on the idea of generating electricity from a

playground activity when the children bicycle in a rotational motion. At the

same time the kids have fun they also provide electricity for the whole

community.

The third concept is based on the fan where the users can build their own

jugaad solutions using the same rotational mechanism. Since the fan is only

used seasonally during three months solutions can be added to use during

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off-season. The solutions are suited for chores such as grinding to make flour,

washing clothes, pressing juices and grinding spices.

Concept selection

A ranking of the ideas were made in order to analyse which of the concepts we

chose to pursue. Since the first and second concepts are new designs but not

based on the existing jugaad concepts we decided to choose the concept

where we combine the first and the third concept. The rotational motion is

kept since the motion is obtained by using the bicycle mechanism for pedalling

the belt drive circuit in the system. The final concept will add value to the

existing jugaad concepts but also provide the local people in Kanpur the

opportunity to add extra functions using the existing resources. The second

concept was not pursued since the playground activity does not provide much

electricity when the children cycle hence it will not provide the whole village

with electricity.

Prototype

The prototype is built from an existing frame used for a shredder machine. The

prototype is based on a mechanism with a belt drive circuit that provides

rotational motion when the user is pedalling. An alternator can also be

integrated to the belt drive in which the machine can be used as an alternator

checking device. On the right side of the shaft attached to the system there is a

fan that rotates to be used in agriculture. The tool sharpener is attached on the

left side and provides the users the opportunity to sharpen their tools. An

adjustable table is placed in horizontal direction to place other tools on or work

on.

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Image 8.31: The prototype

Customized user tool-kit

The main platform is a framework containing the rotational mechanism driven

by a chain or belt drives. It is a modular solution that will consist of the main

platform and the possibility for additional attachments as a fan, tool grinder,

pipe cutter and an alternator checking device. The platform has a universal

interface where the attachments are fastened. Since this product is mostly used

by the experts, the main product will serve as a user tool-kit for the end-user

where they are given a manual of how the settlement could be assembled. In

this manual it is suggested how and in what material the main platform could

be customized to better serve the individual user and his purpose. With the

main mechanism and universal interface provided it is possible for the user to

make new attachments for the product so it can make even more tasks.

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Chapter 9

Bus Transport System: A Case Study on Kanpur

Public Road Transit plays a very important role for the people of India. Bus

transport especially, is a key element of Public Road Transport. It is a low-cost

means of transport and one that helps connect people to different parts of the

country, while also being an important commuting tool for the people residing

within a city.

A research was conducted in Kanpur city, spread over weeks. The research was

aimed at trying to empathize and understand the problems faced by the bus

drivers in Kanpur. For the purpose of research, a sample of 35 drivers were

interviewed and shadowed. These drivers primarily drove in Kanpur city and the

nearby surrounding areas like Unnao and Kannauj. During the course of field

study, attempts were made to study drivers of various different kinds of buses

that operate in Kanpur so as to get a broader understanding of the problems

faced. The study was conducted on the Mandhan-Ramadevi bus route, a long

route with a mix of both light and heavy traffic, the length of route enabled me

to observe the driver a reasonably long period, it helped understand and

observe the various interaction that the bus driver has with regards to the

workstation and also the observe the problems faced during different traffic

densities. Field notes, photographs were collected during the course of the study to

note observations and get a grasp of unarticulated problems.

The chapter contains the findings from the field study and is aimed at identifying

the various issues faced by the bus driver in day to day driving conditions. It

focuses on the driving experience of the Indian bus drivers, the problems faced

by them, the issues which affect their driving experience and various Jugaad

based solutions to deal with the issues. Bus driving is a stressful job. The driver is

responsible for driving the bus between various bus stops, while ensuring the

safety of passengers for the duration of journey and during pickup and drop.

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They are exposed to heat, noise and vibrations from within the bus and harmful

emission of gases from outside, which could potentially cause health problems

both physical and psychological. The problem is accentuated by the traffic,

pedestrians and congestion on road. The drivers’ workstation plays a key role

ensuring a good driving experience for drivers.

Public Bus transport is over-burdened in India. The bus drivers emerge as the

unlikely victims of it. Multiple work-exposure and stress spoil the driving

experience and it may lead to accidents and injury. In recent times, the

government has taken various steps in the direction of customers to provide them

a great user-experience while commuting on the bus. However, the driver’s

problems and workstations remain ignored. A lot of opportunities may open up if

one is to study the driving experience of the bus driver and identify problem ideas,

which can be worked upon to provide an improved user experience to the driver.

The field study also brings to fore, the use of ‘jugaad’ as means of construction to

cut down cost and also to create innovative solutions to problems faced. The

chapter documents a few ‘jugaad’ creations being used at a systemic level in the

case of bus construction.

Problems Faced by Bus Drivers in Kanpur

Bus drivers are the key to every bus transport system. They are responsible for

safe journey of the passengers, regardless of the prevailing weather, traffic or

road conditions. Bus driving is characterised by psychological and physical

stresses. Most severe are the stresses of traffic in big cities. Because of heavy

traffic, there are frequent stops. Psychological stresses result from responsibility

of safe transport of passengers, little opportunity to communicate with family

members due to extreme work hours and having to maintain a tight schedule.

The bus drivers work 15-16 hours a day.

In addition to the psychological stresses associated with bus driving, bus

drivers face various problems with regards to the workstation which has a

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huge impact on their user experience. In the following sections, the various

issues faced by them, which hamper the driving experience, are explored.

Instrument Console

The instrument console provides the system feedback and informs the driver

about the status of the bus. It provides all the information vital to driving a bus.

The research showed that majority of the drivers were unable to use the

instrument console, due to improper placement of the console, its visibility was

hampered.

Image 9.1: Instrument console damaged due to excessive heat

The instrument console is always out of the line of sight. It requires drivers

glance away from the road, which can potential disaster.

As illustrated in Image 9.2, the instrument console is not visible in bright light,

and often reflects light creating further distraction for the driver. One of the

most important elements for the bus driver is the brake pressure gauge.

However, to due lack of visibility of the instrument cluster, drivers are unable

to view that critical piece of information. Brake pressure is critical to helping

vehicle stop timely.

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Image 9.2: Instrument cluster in bright light

Controls and Switches

Controls and switches are crucial to functioning of the buses. The various

switches on the dashboard control various functions such as headlights,

interior lights, headlight mode. Etc. The functions are essential when are

vehicle is on the move However, it was noted that the placement of switches

was arbitrary, and not ergonomically correct. This created great issues in

terms of accessibility and reach as displayed in Image 9.3 the switch panel is

placed on the top panel requiring a lot of movement and causing a great

amount of distraction. In Image 9.4 the switches are placed arbitrarily and

create accessibility issues, in addition to the fact that there is no labelling to

recognise individual function of the switch, Additionally, the horn button are

also placed in an inconvenient position which leads to greater stress and

cognitive load. The users complained of decision fatigue due to controls in

case of heavy traffic and reduced decision making ability.

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Image 9.3: Switches placed on top

Image 9.4: Switches placed underneath the steering

Amongst controls, clutch and brake were a big problem. The users

complained on knee pain due to the high positioning of the accelerator,

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brake and clutch levers. The drivers need to constantly move their leg, up

and down to operate the controls.

Seating

Seating is a vital element of bus-driving. The users reported various problems

with regards to the seat. The users would start experiencing back pain after 2-3

hours. This is a major concern for the drivers who are expected to driver for

15-16 hours a day. The seatback does not allow any level of incline and have to

sight upright the whole duration of the journey.

Ventilation

Ventilation is major cause of concern amongst all the bus drivers. As most of the

buses are front engine, coupled with long working hours next to the engine,

lead to a lot of discomfort for the driver with no ventilation for the both lower

and upper part of the body. The users were unanimous in their opinion. User

even complaint of getting burn marks and heat boils due to exposure to engine

heat and lacking ventilation (Image 9.6).

Further, the users disapproved of the side windows, as they are too small to be

usable

(Image 9.5). They did not aid ventilation or neither were they useful for giving

hand signal.

Image 9.5: Small window aperture on Swaraj Mazda bus

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Image 9.6: Heat boils and burn marks on a driver’s leg

Peripheral Visibility

The outside rear view mirrors are important to check for traffic proximity and to

check if passengers are loading or unloading. The small outside-rear-view-

mirrors are not very helpful in this regard, to check for proximity of other

vehicles or for reversing. They demand increased attention span and in heavy

traffic, it leads to decision fatigue and can lead to accidents. Additionally, small

window apertures do not allow making hand signals.

Image 9.7: Tiny external rear view mirrors

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Amenities

The bus drivers are provided negligible amenities despite a demanding job. There

is no provision for a bottle holder, the bus drivers keep their bottles next to the

seat, which, once empty they start to roll in the foot well area and could hinder

the movement of leg, making driving a bit more troublesome. (Image 9.8)

Image 9.8: Bottle causing obstruction in the driver’s foot well area

There have been incidents of water bottles getting in the way of the pedals and

blocking the operation leading to fatal accidents. There are very few storage

spaces for the drive to store their belongings. In terms of amenities there is also

no provision for a sun-shade which is a common accessory. Lack of sun-shade

may cause temporary blindness while driving. Furthermore, the lack of clock on

workstations affects their driving experience. Since the buses run in

synchronization, any delay will cost them penalty which may lead to the drivers

taking a rash decisions.

Weather

The weather has a big role to play in case of driving experience. Winters are

strenuous time for the bus drivers. The reduced visibility creates uncertainty

which poses a big challenge for the bus drivers. During summers there is no way

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to regulate or control heat and the drivers fear a leaking roof in monsoon. The

weather conditions aggravate the stress on the bus driver, both physically and

mentally.

Additionally, the buses also do not provide adequate protection against dust and

pollution which directly affect the drivers’ health.

Others

Here are the minor factors which affect the driving experience of a bus driver.

Loose cables hanging from the bottom of the instrument cluster are exposed to

damage. The cables can easily snap, in case of error while getting in or getting

out of the bus (Image 9.9).

Further, there are very few considerations with regards to safety. The seatbelt

is absent in vast majority of the buses, raising a big question over the safety of

the drives and indirectly also the passenger (Image 9.10)

Image 9.9: Loose wires hanging from the instrument cluster

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Image 9.10: Bus driver without safety belt

Jugaad Innovation in Buses

We can see a range of jugaad innovations in our life. Jugaad also called frugal

innovation is a way to creatively make things work or to create new innovation

with meagre resources that are easily available. They exist as indigenously

developed low-cost solutions that are functional, easy to use and effective,

though not necessarily the most well designed or efficient. As an intrinsically

Indian concept, it can also be found in the context of buses.

Jugaad adopted to address common issues in driving

The Ventilator: To battle heat and also allow for ventilation, the fan solves

a major problems faced by bus driver with regards to ventilation and

provides a fresh breath of air.

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Image 9.11: Jugaad fan in driver’s cabin

Pedal Leveller: Various drivers complained about how knee feet starts to pain,

due to constant up and down movement after driving for multiple hours of

ride. This simple brick solution doubles up as support to press the pedal and

also as a support for the foot.

Image 9.12: A brick based solution with an aim to ease foot pain

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Gear Cooler: This a jugaad solution, to block hot air from escaping the

engine bay and reaching into the cabin made with a piece of rubber and

some rope.

Image 9.13: Gear cooler to avoid engine heat from entering foot well

Jugaad in coach building

The concept of jugaad based innovation is slowly gaining ground and is almost on

its way to being employed at an industrial level. In coach building, we can see

small hints of jugaad innovation being employed.

Home Switches for Toggles: Over here we can see a bunch of regular switches

being used inside the buses as toggle switches for various functions such as

headlight, interior light, fog etc.

l

Image 9.14: jugaad based switch installation

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These were a just few samples of jugaad. If one is to pursue jugaad as a

means of systematic way of innovation to design, low-cost, indigenous

solutions, one can find hundreds of opportunity to apply the concept of

jugaad. While these jugaads were functional, these solutions were not fully

effective. There exists a possibility to provide a much better user

experience through design intervention. By integrating coach-builder into

the design process, a system-level design intervention can also be explored

to use co-creation as means to design and develop low-cost solutions that

help improve the driving experience in buses.

Public bus transport is extremely vital to for India, even more so, with the

growing economy and rising population. The study was able to successfully

bring to fore, the plight of bus drivers and the issues faced by them. By

identifying issues affecting the driving experience, it helped realise the breadth

of the problems as well as the importance of it. The various problems identified

revealed that they were consistent among the majority of surveyed drivers.

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Chapter 10

Conclusion

The aim of this project was to understand the importance of jugaad and its wide

prevalence in the Indian society. The need for jugaad products and processes,

the consequences of using jugaad and the extent of its social acceptance are

aspects on which research was carried out. It was a great learning experience for

the team who worked on this project. A lot of field work was done, interviews

were taken, films were shot and even a workshop was conducted. The team

explored the areas where jugaad is at work and studied various mechanical

devices.

After investigating all the aspects of jugaad, we can conclude that it is socio-

economic compulsions that fuel the need for a product/service or its alternative.

This need triggers creative thought thus making the person recombine hidden

connections in an already existing product. Once the society accepts this as an

improvised low cost alternative, it is recognized as an innovative solution. This

results in jugaad. Favourable attitude helps maintain this new alternative with

positive bias.

People find jugaad products and processes useful. But some are of the opinion

that these are done without too much regard to the principle of safety. Jugaad

products are helpful for the large Indian population that cannot afford too many

sophisticated machineries. There is a point of argument that Jugaad degrades

scientific knowledge, innovation and products. It might do so by using it for other

purposes that it was not intended for. But our contention is that it does not

lower the status of any product or innovative idea. It is in fact a new approach to

frugal and flexible innovation which can help entrepreneurs around the world

succeed in hypercompetitive market places. Our motivation in this regard is the

book ‘Jugaad Innovation’ by Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu and Simone Ahuja.

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The work of understanding jugaad has just begun. It needs much more time,

effort and resources so that some of these products can be modified by experts

usually chemical and mechanical engineers and designers who can leverage mass

production and make it available for consumers at low price and contribute to

nation building by promoting the government’s idea of ‘Make in India’.

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References

Bem, D.J. (1970). Beliefs, Attitudes, and Human Affairs. Belmont, CA:

Brooks/Cole.

Dhabolkar, V. & Krishnan, R.T. (2013). 8 Steps to Innovation: Going from Jugaad

to Excellence. India: Harper Collins.

Eagly, A. H. & Chaiken, S. (1993). The Psychology of Attitudes. Fort Worth, TX:

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Krech, D. & Crutchfield, R.S. (1948). Theory and Problems of Social Psychology.

New York: MacGraw-Hill.

Land, G. & Jarman, B. (1993). Breaking Point and Beyond. San Francisco: Harper

Business.

Radjou, N. et al (2012). Jugaad Innovation: Think Frugal, Be Flexible, Generate

Breakthrough Growth. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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The Team

Principal Investigators

Braj Bhushan

Munmun Jha

Satyaki Roy

Vimal Kuma

Research and Support

Amit Kundal

Anurag Srivastava

Carlos Rojas Tena

Erik Bergqvist

Jami Sarnikorpi

Jennifer Hansen

Kulwant Singh

Lisa Trinh

Mohit Tiwari

Mrityunjay Kumar

Pulkit Saraswat

Rebecka Chiu

Romil Desai

Saptarshi Kolay

Shaw Amar

Shweta Nair

Siddhath Singh

Tathagata Acharya

Varsha Jha