Jugaad

A temporary jugaad improvised repair for a broken support

Jugaaḍ (or jugaaṛ) is a non-conventional, frugal innovation, in Indian subcontinent.[1] It also includes innovative fixes or a simple workarounds, solutions that bend the rules, or resources that can be used in such a way. It is considered creative to make existing things work and create new things with meager resources.

Jugaad is increasingly accepted as a management technique[2][3] and is recognized all over the world as a form of frugal innovation.[4] Companies in Southeast Asia are adopting jugaad as a practice to reduce research and development costs.[5] Jugaad also applies to any kind of creative and out-of-the-box thinking or life hacks that maximize resources for a company and its stakeholders.

According to author and professor Jaideep Prabhu, jugaad is an "important way out of the current economic crisis in developed economies and also holds important lessons for emerging economies".[6]

Jugaad water heater used in villages of Haryana and Punjab in India and Pakistan.
  1. ^ "जुगाड़" [Creative improvisation]. aamboli.com.
  2. ^ "Jugaad: A New Growth Formula for Corporate America". Harvard Business Review Blog Network. 25 January 2010.
  3. ^ "Bricolage in R&D Settings". IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. doi:10.1109/TEM.2020.2997796. hdl:11343/241260. S2CID 225681071.
  4. ^ "India's Next Global Export: Innovation". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2 December 2009.
  5. ^ "A snip at the price". The Economist. 28 May 2009.
  6. ^ "Cambridge expert says Indian 'jugaad' is lesson to world". 8 November 2013.