‘Indian Innovation’ by Dinesh C Sharma: It's ‘jugaad’ versus innovation

Sandeep Sinha

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THE role of science and technology in the development of India and the strides that have contributed to the growth of the nation in the face of constraints form the subject-matter of the book. Right since Independence, the country placed great emphasis on the role of science in development, with Nehru himself describing the first major industries as “temples of modern India”. Dinesh C Sharma, a senior journalist and science commentator, writes about the innovations that have helped the country move forward, focusing on changes in technology, IT or digital solutions that have helped transform governance, business, grassroots movements, agriculture, fashion and law, among others.

The writer says Indian innovation is different from jugaad, a term that has attained some respectability because of the Western perspective, where management gurus use the term to describe frugal and grassroots innovations in the Indian context. It is a quick-fix, a short-term solution to overcome inefficiency in a system or product or shortcomings in infrastructure. It may have harmful consequences for the user, with some of the jugaad even being illegal. Sharma says anyone conversant with the social-cultural context of jugaad would know that it is not innovation but the representation of a mindset that promotes crude improvisation, which is not always safe or sustainable. The jugaad is said to have emerged in Punjab in the 1960s, where farmers put together a contraption by attaching a pumpset engine with discarded automobile parts and a four-wheeled cart to transport agricultural produce and people over short distances. Peter rehras and Gharukas are a common sight in the state’s hinterland.

Solutions based on jugaad indicate what we lack in design, manufacture, supply chain and user-driven processes. Its depiction in popular culture normalised it, while management experts mainstreamed it, much to the chagrin of frugal or grassroots innovators whose works are being dubbed as jugaad too.

The author also says that innovation is not just related to technology. In the Indian context, it covers technological innovations, scientific solutions, new ideas in business and industry, path-breaking government policies and programmes, grassroots innovations, laws and regulations designed to serve a unique purpose, new ways of institution building, people’s movements and practices.

Considering the huge strides made in the years since Independence, it was tough to classify the innovations and the criteria used is broadly their disruptive nature, turning points or the watershed character of innovations in various fields, new ideas that triggered a trend or had a lasting impact on society.

The chapters in the book have been organised thematically, with the first one dedicated to innovations that have been critical for progress in food production and communications. The effort has been to deal with each innovation as a standalone narrative providing the context, origin and core features of that innovation, as well as its dissemination, impact and the key people behind it.

The writer quotes Walter Isaacson to point out that there are no revolutions in science and technology, only evolutions. The journey of India is about the landmarks, the changes and the adjustments that helped in making innovations that have not just impacted life but also brought about a qualitative change in it. From Nutan stove to economise on kerosene to ‘chota recharge’, from Green Revolution to White Revolution, from Maruti-800 to EVMs, from revolutionary progress to making vaccines to mohalla clinics, cyclone warning to Jan Dhan Yojana and from Nehru jacket to IPL, the history of modern India is replete with instances of dedication and thinking on the feet to overcome odds. The book lists 100 such innovations encompassing different fields and makes for absorbing reading.