Previous

Part - II

Now for all those ignorant souls who have come across this term for the first time, "What is the meaning of Jugaad?" Earlier this word used to have stigma attached to it. It was a colloquial Hindi word that meant a resource, source or a connection or a trick to use them, to make your way out when you do not deserve something or which is not fair. A slight connotation of sly, unfair and cunning behavior was attached to this word. But, gradually with what is called standardization of language by the linguists, this word has taken an additional and more popular meaning now. It means creative improvisation and finding alternative ways of doing improbable things. It has absolutely nothing to do with the level of education one has or the grooming one gets. It tells you more about the ability to think out of the box and optimizing the resources available in the best possible manner. The western world might like to call it crisis management in its clichéd parlance. Let us see some examples from different fields how this Jugaad has been able to turn an adverse situation into an advantage. Surprisingly, the people who have done this are the most unlikely ones.

Not known much is an interesting incident from Indo-Pak war 1971. It was the era of T-54 and T-55 Russian tanks. The senior military commanders were in a fix over the defective firing pins in them. These tanks were already deployed on the western border and there was a race against time. Helplessly, they thought searching for a local alternative. There was an old Sikh in a nearby village who could fabricate them with Jugaad applying some local make shift arrangements. After some trials in his workshop, he perfected the firing pins, which could serve both the models. Within no time, he duplicated hundreds of them at a cost of Rs. 27 each, against the Rs. 300 for an imported one. Rest, as we say, is history.

Innumerable problems beset the boring of twin tunnels in Goa that could be surmounted only by lopping off nearly a third of their proposed length. As none of the known procedures worked, the engineers resorted to Jugaad. They raised the level of the alignment and accomplished the "unthinkable". Subsequently, the debris from the hollowed out sections was utilized in maintaining the same elevation at the opposite end. The leftovers were used to prevent water-logging and track submergence. The Jugaad saved more than Rs.12 crore.

Another terrific example is from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. The farmers here have designed an indigenous vehicle Jugaad (Yes, it is even named Jugaad as a tribute to the innovation which went into its making). It was made of the engine of the diesel pump used for irrigating their fields. Other materials used were some spare parts from a used vehicle junkyard, old jeep clutch and a radiator. Further investment of a sum of Rs.30,000 and Jugaad was ready. This could go 40 kilometers an hour, was inexpensive to run, could carry thirty people, lot of agricultural stuff and even their buffalos when there was a need. If any thing went wrong they could fix it themselves. And if they did not want to invest in a new pump the same pump could be used for pumping water. Some enterprising ones even started using them as Taxis. Its manufacturing does not require any assembly lines. The mechanics buy minivan spare parts - wheels, axles, transmissions, gearboxes, and steering - from markets in Delhi. They get their engines, made to power water pumps, from Agra. And they pick up steel for the chassis and wood for the framing from Jaipur. Can someone tell me where did they get an M.B.A. from?

Next

* Contributed by -
Vishal Gaurav, MBA (2nd year),
Sachin Kumar Singh, MCA (2nd year),
International Management Institute, Delhi.