Engineering Begins Where Jugaad Ends

India’s journey from a developing nation to a developed one will depend on building institutions that deliver reliability, precision and scale.

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The title may sound unfair to a concept that Indians rightly admire. After all, jugaad has come to symbolize creativity, resourcefulness and the ability to solve problems under difficult circumstances. Yet the title captures an important truth. Jugaad demonstrates that something can work. Engineering ensures that it works every time, safely, reliably and on a scale. As India aspires to become a developed nation and a global technology leader, understanding the difference between the two has never been more important.

On roads across rural India, one occasionally encounters a remarkable sight: a vehicle assembled from parts never meant to go together, yet somehow transporting people, produce or equipment. Nearby, a farmer may have modified an irrigation pump to suit local conditions. A mechanic may have found an ingenious way to keep an ageing machine running years beyond its expected life. Such stories represent a quality that Indians celebrate instinctively: jugaad.

Symbol of Ingenuity

Over time, jugaad has become more than a word. It has become a symbol of Indian ingenuity. Business schools discuss it. Innovation experts analyse it. Entrepreneurs cite it as evidence that constraints can stimulate creativity. In a world increasingly concerned with sustainability and affordability, jugaad is often presented as a uniquely Indian contribution to innovation. Yet an important question remains largely unexplored: Can a nation become a scientific and technological leader by relying on jugaad?

The answer is both yes and no. Jugaad is one of India’s greatest strengths. But if misunderstood, it can also become one of its greatest limitations.

The word itself carries two very different meanings. At its best, jugaad represents resourcefulness under constraints. It is the ability to solve problems when money, materials, infrastructure or institutional support are scarce. It reflects creativity, resilience and determination. Many grassroots innovations that have improved lives across India emerged from precisely this spirit. At its worst, however, jugaad becomes a shortcut. It becomes a way of bypassing systems rather than improving them. It becomes an acceptance of temporary fixes instead of pursuing durable solutions. The same word therefore deserves both admiration and caution.

For much of the post-Independence period, India functioned in an economy marked by shortages. Products were difficult to obtain. Imports were restricted. Capital was limited. Infrastructure was inadequate. Citizens and businesses often had little choice but to improvise.

This should not be mistaken for an inherent Indian preference for improvisation. India has a long tradition of systematic engineering. The planned cities and drainage systems of the Indus Valley Civilization, the Iron Pillar of Delhi that has resisted corrosion for over 1,600 years, the intricate water-management systems of stepwells and tanks, and the great temples, forts and observatories built across the subcontinent all testify to a deep engineering tradition. These achievements were not products of jugaad. They were the result of careful design, accumulated knowledge, standardization and skilled execution. In many ways, they remind us that India’s civilizational strength has never been improvisation alone. It has been the ability to transform knowledge into systems that endure for centuries.

This capacity to do more with less should not be underestimated. It has helped millions overcome obstacles and has often generated surprisingly effective solutions. It has enabled innovation to emerge not only from laboratories and corporations but also from workshops, farms and small enterprises.

Frugal Innovation

Indeed, some of India’s most admired achievements embody the spirit of achieving more with fewer resources. The success of affordable healthcare models, low-cost medical technologies and cost-effective space missions demonstrates that frugality and excellence can coexist. This distinction is crucial. Frugal innovation and world-class innovation are not opposite.

The Jaipur Foot restored mobility to millions at a fraction of the cost of conventional alternatives. The Aravind Eye Care system demonstrated how high-quality healthcare can be delivered efficiently and on a scale. ISRO earned international respect not because its missions were inexpensive, but because it consistently achieved demanding objectives within limited budgets. These examples are not celebrated because they are cheap. They are celebrated because they combine affordability with reliability, quality and impact. More recently, digital public infrastructure such as UPI has demonstrated how India can create solutions that are not only affordable but also robust enough to serve hundreds of millions of users. Such achievements represent the evolution of ingenuity into systems.

The real challenge begins when jugaad is mistaken for a complete innovation strategy. There is an important difference between solving a problem and solving it reliably, safely and on a scale. A makeshift repair may keep a machine running for a few days. An engineered solution may keep it running for decades. A local workaround may help one community. Robust technology can serve millions. One demonstrates ingenuity. The other creates enduring value.

This distinction becomes even more important in science and technology. Scientific progress depends on reproducibility. An experiment must yield the same result when repeated under the same conditions. Engineering depends on standards, testing, documentation and quality assurance. These disciplines were developed precisely to reduce dependence on improvisation. In many ways, science advances by replacing clever exceptions with reliable rules.

A vaccine cannot be approved through jugaad. A commercial aircraft cannot fly safely through jugaad. A semiconductor fabrication facility cannot operate through jugaad. A nuclear power plant cannot depend on jugaad. Such systems demand precision, predictability and reliability. Jugaad proves that something can work. Engineering ensures that it works every time.

History offers valuable lessons. Japan emerged from the devastation of the Second World War to become synonymous with quality and precision. Germany built its industrial strength through rigorous engineering standards. South Korea transformed itself from a developing nation into a global technology leader through sustained investments in research, manufacturing excellence and innovation ecosystems. These countries certainly displayed creativity and adaptability. But they converted creativity into capability. That transition is where India now stands.

India’s aspirations are no longer limited to overcoming scarcity. The country seeks leadership in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, advanced materials, biotechnology, semiconductors, aerospace systems and clean energy. Through the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, it seeks not merely economic growth but technological leadership. These ambitions require more than ingenuity. They require institutions.

One of the unintended consequences of excessive admiration for jugaad is that it can normalize systemic deficiencies. Instead of asking why a problem exists, we celebrate our ability to work around it. India has often displayed extraordinary skill in solving problems despite imperfect systems. The next stage of development requires building systems that solve problems without heroic effort. This may be the central challenge of India’s innovation journey.

Building Institutions

The lesson is not that India should abandon jugaad. On the contrary, the creativity, flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit that jugaad represents are invaluable assets. The challenge is to ensure that jugaad remains the beginning of the innovation process rather than its endpoint. The question is whether we can build institutions that repeatedly produce such solutions on a global scale.

This requires investments in research, engineering education, testing facilities, standards, manufacturing excellence and innovation ecosystems. It requires universities, laboratories, startups, industries and government agencies to work together over long periods. Most importantly, it requires a culture that values not only invention but also refinement, reliability and scale.

Jugaad helped India navigate an era of scarcity. The task before India now is to build the institutions that make it work every time. That is the true journey from jugaad to engineering. It is also the journey from a developing India to a developed one.

(The writer is an ANRF Prime Minister Professor at COEP Technological University, Pune, and former Director of the Agharkar Research Institute, Pune. Views personal.)