''Jugaaḍ'' (or "Jugaaṛ") is a colloquial Indo-Aryan word, which refers to a non-conventional, frugal innovation, often termed a "

hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack'' Music * ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...

". It could also refer to an innovative fix or a simple work-around, a solution that bends the rules, or a resource that can be used in such a way. It is also often used to signify creativity: to make existing things work, or to create new things with meager resources. Jugaad is increasingly accepted as a management technique and is recognized all over the world as an acceptable form of

frugal engineering Frugal innovation or frugal engineering is the process of reducing the complexity and cost of a good and its production. Usually this refers to removing nonessential features from a durable good, such as a car or telephone, in order to sell it in d ...

at peak. Companies in Southeast Asia are adopting jugaad as a practise to reduce

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

costs. 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 Jaideep Prabhu (born 12 October 1967 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India) is the Jawaharlal Nehru professor of business and enterprise at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, England. The Professorship was established by the Gove ...

, ''jugaad'' is an "important way out of the current economic crisis in developed economies and also holds important lessons for emerging economies".

Etymology and variants

It is pronounced as ''jugaad'' or ''jugaadh'' in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

, while in

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

yoke A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, us ...

''. In

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

it is translated as உத்தரம். There are similar idioms in the Southern Indian languages (for example, ''thattikootu'' (to ‘put together’) or ''oppeeru'' (‘fixing’ or ‘getting’) in Malayalam; or ''mazhattu'' ('to distract') in Tamil). Another view is that the word originates from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word ''yukti'' which means "a solution (to a problem)". This view is the most likely one. The Yoga origins have no bridging words or ideas. Yukati lead to the word 'Jugat' meaning 'solution' and 'jugti' meaning 'one who can find solutions' in Punjabi. In Punjabi we can create a nonsense word to make a pair that goes together. If 'pani- pooni peo'..'drink water wooter' literally. So we say 'have you found a jugat jugad' for this problem? Jugaad roughly corresponds to do-it-yourself ( DIY) in the US, hacking or a bodge in the UK, urawaza (裏技) in Japanese, tapullo in parts of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, ''tǔ fǎ '' (土法) in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Trick 17 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, ''gambiarra'' in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, '' système D.'' in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, ''jua kali'' in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, or '' Number 8 wire'' in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

; in addition, equivalent words within South Africa are ''’n boer maak ’n plan'' in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

, ''izenzele'' in Zulu, ''iketsetse'' in

Sotho Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana * Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an off ...

, and ''itirele'' in Tswana. Jugaad technology (A motorcycle pulling another one by a rope)

Jugaad and legality

Yamini Narayanan is an animal life defender who argues that Jugaad is a key resource for progress in obstructionist environments like slow, inefficient, or corrupt bureaucracies and governance institutions, or when the activity is illegal. Depending on context, intention, and the informal political economy, jugaad can be legal, unauthorized, or even criminal. Yamini stresses that jugaad covers a broad set of complex practices, argumentation, and innovations, that have also been used in concealments in the slaughter of cows throughout India.

Low-cost vehicle

''Jugaad'' can also refer to a homemade or locally made vehicle in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. They are made by local mechanics using wooden planks, metal sheets and parts taken from different machines and vehicles. One type of ''jugaad'' is a quadricycle, a vehicle made of wooden planks and old

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

parts, variously known as ''kuddukka'' and ''

peter rehra Peter rehra, ਪੀਟਰ ਰੇਹੜਾ is a homemade jugaad vehicle used in rural Punjab and other North Indian states. It is made by assembling a diesel engine,(mostly meant for pumping water), removing the pumpset assembly from it, and join ...

'' in

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

. However, ''jugaad'' could be used as a term for any low cost vehicle which typically costs around Rs. 50,000 (about US$800). ''Jugaads'' are powered by diesel engines originally intended to power agricultural

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

pumps. They are known for poor brakes, and cannot go faster than about 60 km/h (37 mph). The vehicle often carries more than 20 people at a time in remote locations and poor road conditions. Though no statistical data is available, it is reported that there are a number of instances of failing brakes, requiring a passenger to jump off and manually apply a wooden block as a brake. As part of research for his 2013 book, Innovation and a Global Knowledge Economy in India, Thomas Birtchnell, a lecturer of Sustainable Communities at

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, found that of 2,139 cases of road traffic casualties in 72 hours at J N Medical College hospital in Aligarh, 13.88% of pedestrian casualties were due to ''jugaad''. It was stated by Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways

Pon Radhakrishnan Pon Radhakrishnan (born 1 March 1952) is an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Shipping between May 2014 and May 2019. Earlier, ...

that ''jugaads'' do not conform to the specifications of a Motor Vehicle under the

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 The Act came into force from 1 July 1989. It replaced Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 which earlier replaced the first such enactment Motor Vehicles Act, 1914. The act is amended by The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) act, ...

. These vehicles hence do not have any

vehicle registration plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...

and they are not registered with the

Regional Transport Office The Regional Transport Office or District Transport Office or Regional Transport Authority ( RTO/DTO/RTA) is the organisation of the Indian government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers and a database of vehicles for various sta ...

(RTO). Hence, no road tax is paid on them, neither there exists any official count of such vehicles. ''Jugaads'' are not officially recognized as road-worthy, and despite a few proposals to regulate them, vote-bank politics have trumped safety concerns. The improvised vehicles have now become rather popular as a means to transport all manner of burdens, from lumber to steel rods to school children. For safety reasons the Government of India has officially banned ''jugaad'' vehicles. Another type of ''jugaad'' called ''bike-rehra'' or ''motorcycle-rehri'', a motorcycle, moped or scooter modified into motorized trikes are used in Indian

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

province and its neighboring states. Another type of ''jugaad'' called ''phat-phatri rickshaw'' or ''phatphatiya rickshaw'', WWII-era

Harley Davidson Harley may refer to: People * Harley (given name) * Harley (surname) Places * Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada * Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada * Harley, Shropshire, England * Harley, South Yorkshire, England * Harley Street, in Lo ...

motorcycles modified into motorized trikes were earlier used in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. A variant of the ''jugaad'' vehicle in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

in South India is the ''meen body vandi.'' This roughly translates to "fish bed vehicle" because they originated among local fishermen who needed a quick and cheap transport system to transport fish. It is a motorized tri-wheeler (derived from the non-motorized variant) with a heavy-duty suspension and a motorcycle engine—typically recycled from Czech

Yezdi Ideal Jawa (India) Ltd was an Indian motorcycle company based in Mysore which sold licensed Jawa Motors, Jawa motorcycles beginning in 1960 under the brand name Jawa and from 1973 as Yezdi. The name Yezdi was established by a phonetic transcript ...

or Enfield Bullet vehicles. Its origins are typical of other ''jugaadu'' innovations—dead fish are typically considered unhygienic, and vehicles that carry them cannot be typically used to carry anything else. Similar vehicles can be found throughout much of Southeast Asia. Another variant of the ''jugaad'' called ''chakkda rickshaw'', a motorcycle modified into a tri-wheeler with truck wheels in the rear is used in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. The variant of ''jugaad'' in

is a motorcycle made into a trike called ''chand-gari'' meaning "Moon Car" or ''chingchee'' after the Chinese company

Jinan Qingqi Jinan Qingqi Motorcycle Co., Ltd () is a Chinese manufacturer of mopeds, quadbikes and other small engined & electric motorcycles that was founded in 1956. The company headquarters is located in Jinan, Shandong Province. Qingqi is probably the best ...

Co. LTD who first introduced these to the market. Today, a ''jugaad'' is one of the most cost-effective transportation solutions for rural Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. File:Jugaad.jpg, ''Jugaad'' vehicle ''

Peter Rehra Peter rehra, ਪੀਟਰ ਰੇਹੜਾ is a homemade jugaad vehicle used in rural Punjab and other North Indian states. It is made by assembling a diesel engine,(mostly meant for pumping water), removing the pumpset assembly from it, and join ...

'' powered by an agricultural water pump engine. Jugaad_engine.JPG , ''Jugaad'' engine being hand-started. File:Politicaljugaad.jpg, ''Jugaad'' vehicle ''Peter Rehra'' carrying passengers to a political rally in Agra, India. File:Motorcycle cart .jpg, ''Bike-trolley'', a ''jugaad'' trailer for motorcycles. File:ChhakdoRickshaw.jpg, ''Chakkda Rickshaw'' in

. File:Market porter pedals jugaad goods carrier tricycle in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India.jpg, A non-motorized ''Meen Body Vandi'' ''jugaad''-style improvised vehicle, in

Tamil Nadu, India Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. File:Meen Body Vandi fish bed vehicle Jugaad tricycle trike conversion three wheeler Rajdoot TVS Tamilnadu India - மீன் பூடி வண்டி Etan Doronne www.myindiaexperience.com Wikipedia.jpg, Motorised ''Meen Body Vandi''. File:Chingchee in Pakistan.JPG, ''Chand Gari Rickshaw'' in

Etymology and variants

Jugaad and legality

Low-cost vehicle

See also

Notes

Further reading