Indian Innovation, Not Jugaad - 100 Ideas that Transformed India

Dinesh C. Sharma

• Publisher: Roli Books
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9789392130038
• eBook ISBN: 9789392130083
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

As India turns 75, Innovating India unpacks 100 ideas that transformed a young democratic republic into a complex and thriving nation of a billion-plus people.
With compelling urgency and the lucidity of a skilled narrator, Dinesh C. Sharma writes of an India newly independent in 1947 after the British colonial powers left it to its own destiny, of its subsequent wavering journey through the decades all the way to a raging pandemic and of the small and big innovations that paved the way for India. In doing so, he turns on their heads prevailing notions of innovation often propagated in a galaxy of books on the much used and abused narrative of jugaad that romance the idea of how the 'poor' innovate to get by.
Very often, a bulk of the writing heavily focuses on technological, novel, IT or digital solutions and disruptions alone, most of which fizzle out as one-time wonders. Sharma does the difficult job of writing about the disruptions that revolutionized the way things were done in a particular sector and context. Covering policies, concepts, and institutions in areas such as, but not limited to, science, healthcare, education, governance, business, grassroots movements, agriculture, fashion, law and others, this is a book one needs to read to better understand India.
Propulsively put together, with effortless prose, Sharma's writing, with his decades' long journalistic understanding of science, technology, environment, and communities, is teeming with stories and anecdotes of innovations that went on to change the lives of Indians forever. From software parks to shampoos sachets, jan sunwais to oxygen langars, Lijjat papad to mohalla clinics, the Chipko movement to Khabar Lahariya, this is also the story of the unknown, unsung people behind these innovations that are continuing to shape India as we know it.

As India turns 75, Indian Innovation unpacks 100 ideas that transformed a young democratic republic into a complex and thriving nation of a billion-plus people. With compelling urgency and the lucidity of a skilled narrator, Dinesh C. Sharma writes of an India newly independent in 1947 after the British colonial powers left it to its own destiny, of its subsequent wavering journey through the decades all the way to a raging pandemic and of the small and big innovations that paved the way for India.

In doing so, he turns on their heads prevailing notions of innovation often propagated in a galaxy of books on the much used and abused narrative of jugaad that romance the idea of how the ‘poor’ innovate to get by. Very often, a bulk of the writing heavily focuses on technological, novel, IT or digital solutions and disruptions alone, many of which fizzle out as one-time wonders.

Sharma does the difficult job of writing about the original disruptions that revolutionized the way things were done in a particular sector and context. Covering policies, concepts, and institutions in areas such as, but not limited to, science, healthcare, education, governance, business, grassroots movements, agriculture, fashion, law and others, this is a book one needs to read to better understand India.

Propulsively put together with effortless prose, Sharma’s writing, with his decades’ long journalistic understanding of science, technology, environment, and communities, is teeming with stories and anecdotes of innovations that went on to change the lives of Indians forever. From software parks to shampoo sachets, jan sunwais to oxygen langars, Lijjat papad to mohalla clinics, the Chipko movement to Khabar Lahariya, this is also the story of the unknown, unsung people behind these innovations who are continuing to shape India as we know it.

OTHER LOTUS TITLES

Anil Dharker	Icons: Men & Women Who Shaped Today’s India
Aitzaz Ahsan	The Indus Saga: The Making of Pakistan
Ajay Mansingh	Firaq Gorakhpuri: The Poet of Pain & Ecstasy
Anjum Altaf and Amit Basole	Thinking with Ghalib: Poetry for a New Generation
Aruna Roy	The RTI Story: Power to the People
Ashis Ray	Laid to Rest: The Controversy of Subhas Chandra Bose’s Death
Bertil Falk	Feroze: The Forgotten Gandhi
Harinder Baweja	A Soldier’s Diary: Kargil – The Inside Story
Jenny Housego	A Woven Life
Kobad Ghandy	Fractured Freedom: A Prison Memoir A Story of Passion, Commitment and a Search for Justice and Freedom
Kunal Purandare	Ramakant Achrekar: A Biography
Lakshmi Subramanian	Singing Gandhi’s India: Music and Sonic Nationalism
Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo	Param Vir: Our Heroes in Battle
Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo	The Sinking of INS Khukri: What Happened in 1971
Moin Mir	Surat: Fall of a Port, Rise of a Prince, Defeat of the East India Company in the House of Commons
Monisha Rajesh	Around India in 80 Trains
Munshi Faizuddin	Bazm-i Aakhir: The Last Gathering A vivid portrait of life in the Red Fort
Narinder Singh Kapany	The Man Who Bent Light
Ralph Russell	The Famous Ghalib: The Sound of My Moving Pen
Rahul Bedi	The Last Word: Obituaries of 100 Indians Who Led Unusual Lives
Rasheed Kidwai	The House of Scindias: A Saga of Power, Politics and Intrigue
Rashmi Sadana	Metronama: Scenes from the Delhi Metro
R.V. Smith	Delhi: Unknown Tales of a City
Shrabani Basu	Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan
Shahrayar Khan	Bhopal Connections: Vignettes of Royal Rule
S. Hussain Zaidi	Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia
Sunetra Choudhury	Behind Bars: Prison Tales of India’s Most Famous
Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury	Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer
Tamal Bandyopadhyay	Pandemonium: The Great Indian Banking Tragedy
Thomas Weber	Going Native: Gandhi’s Relationship with Western Women
Thomas Weber	Gandhi at First Sight
Vaibhav Purandare	Sachin Tendulkar: A Definitive Biography
Vappala Balachandran	A Life in Shadow: The Secret Story of ACN Nambiar – A Forgotten Anti-Colonial Warrior
Various	The Dark Hour: India Under Lockdowns
Vir Sanghvi	Men of Steel: India’s Business Leaders in Candid Conversation

FORTHCOMING TITLE

Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo

Cartoos Saa

ROLI BOOKS

This digital edition published in India, 2022

The Lotus Collection

An Imprint of Roli Books Pvt. Ltd

M-75, Greater Kailash- II Market

New Delhi 110 048

Phone: ++91 (011) 40682000

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.rolibooks.com

© Dinesh C. Sharma, 2022

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, print reproduction, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Roli Books. Any unauthorized distribution of this e-book may be considered a direct infringement of copyright and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

eISBN: 978-93-92130-08-3

All rights reserved.

This e-book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form or cover other than that in which it is published.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

I. The Revolutions

1. Green Revolution

2. White Revolution

3. Blue Revolution

4. Yellow Revolution

5. The Egg Revolution

6. IT Revolution

7. Communication Revolution

II. Food, Water and Sanitation

8. The Swaraj Tractor

9. India Mark II Deep Well Pump

10. Midday Meal Scheme

11. Ready-mixes for Indian Foods

12. Food for Work

13. Integrated Child Development Scheme

14. Right to Food

15. Sulabh Toilets

III. Health and Medical Research

16. National Family Planning Programme

17. ASHA

18. Generic Drugs

19. Affordable Vaccines

20. Pulse Polio

21. Aravind Eyecare Model

22. Affordable Heart Surgery

23. Universal Iodization of Salt

24. The Jaipur Foot

25. Oral Rehydration Therapy

26. Mohalla Clinics

27. Home-based Palliative Care

28. Open-source Drug Discovery

29. Swasthya Sahayak

30. Green Corridor for Organ Transplants

31. FELUDA and Low-cost Ventilators

32. Oxygen Langar

IV. Transport and Mobility

33. Three-wheeled Scooter Rickshaws

34. Maruti 800

35. REVA Electric Car

36. Delhi Metro Rail

37. E-rickshaws

38. Air Deccan: Affordable Air Travel

39. The Golden Quadrilateral

40. Yulu Shared E-bike

V. Information and Communication Technologies

41. Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE)

42. Software Technology Parks

43. STD/PCO

44. Internet Kiosks

45. Simputer

46. Missed Call Marketing

47. Online Matchmaking

48. Chota Recharge

49. Traditional Knowledge Digital Database

VI. Governance, Public Utilities and Law

50. Indelible Ink and Other Ideas

51. Electronic Voting Machines

52. Computerized Passenger Railway Reservations

53. Bhoomi

54. Lok Adalats

55. Employment Guarantee

56. Public Interest Litigation

57. Cyclone Warning

58. Right to Information

59. Social Audits

60. Unique Identification (UID)/Aadhaar

61. Jan Dhan Yojana

VII. Education

62. Indian Institutes of Technology

63. Indian Institutes of Management

64. All India Institute of Medical Sciences

65. National Institute of Design

66. Total Literacy Campaign

67. Navodaya Vidyalaya

68. Birla Industrial and Technological Museum

69. Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research

70. Foldscopes

71. Happiness Curriculum

VIII. Grassroots Technologies and Movements

72. Improved Chulha

73. Nutan Wick Stove

74. Sachet Revolution

75. Sanitary Pad-making Machine

76. Honey Bee Network

77. Lijjat Papad

78. SEWA Microfinance Model

IX. Art, Culture, Cinema, Architecture, Sports

79. Playback Singing

80. Binaca Geet Mala

81. Indipop

82. SPIC-MACAY

83. Nehru Jacket

84. Designer Khadi

85. Festivals of India

86. Palace on Wheels

87. Dilli Haat

88. Birla Mandir

89. Chandigarh

90. Laurie Baker Architecture

91. Indian Premier League

X. Environment and People’s Movements

92. Project Tiger

93. Chipko Movement

94. Revival of Arvari

95. Navdanya Seed Bank

96. Dhara Vikas

97. Barefoot Engineers

98. Artificial Glaciers

99. Khabar Lahariya

100. MigrantWatch: Citizen Science

About the Author

Acknowledgements

Drawing up a mega list of innovations spanning decades and across sectors can be challenging, hazardous and vulnerable to criticism. Here is how I navigated through this.

To begin with, let’s look at the advantages. I have lived through a large part of the period the book covers. In that sense, it is broadly a journey of exploring innovations that impacted the lives of people of my generation. Procuring grains from a ration shop was a routine activity for millions of Indians in the 1960s. Kids would often be sent to ‘fair price’ shops to check if the stock of wheat had arrived. This was because the food supplies were erratic and dependent on imports. I also remember the images of lush green farms, signalling the Green Revolution, in the Films Division newsreels screened in cinema halls. Just as the grain supplies were easing, the Oil Shock hit us in the early 1970s, making kerosene scarcer. The response came in the form of a red-and-green wick stove named ‘Nutan’, which made its appearance in millions of Indian kitchens. Its blue flame became the talk of the town. The long waiting list for a landline phone connection, serpentine queues to book a railway ticket or trying to buy a car in ‘black’ were all part of the folklore of the 1970s and 1980s. Innovations and creative policy changes helped us address them all. The economic liberalization and globalization in the 1990s and beyond ushered in several changes. This lived experience was at the back of my mind while drawing up a list of post-Independence innovations.

In addition, my professional experience of writing a book on the history of electronics and computing a few years back has helped me develop a perspective of how changes occurred in these sectors. I also had a more recent template to start with. In 2017, when India turned seventy, I wrote a news story on ‘seven defining contributions of science and technology’ that have had ‘great social and economic impacts and had, directly and indirectly, touched the lives of ordinary Indians’. It was syndicated by India Science Wire and published in several news outlets. The seven contributions listed in the story were the Green Revolution, White Revolution, satellite and communication revolution, drugs and vaccine manufacturing, C-DOT and telecom revolution, information technology (IT) revolution and railway computerization, and the Blue Revolution. Around the same time, when the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) planned to publish an anthology, Indian Science Transforming India, its editor, L.S. Shashidhara, asked me to contribute a chapter.

Still, the task at hand was challenging on two counts – expanding the list to 100 and areas beyond science and technology. A third challenge was defining innovation. Here, my continued interactions with innovation guru, Professor Anil Gupta, as well as scores of grassroots innovators spotted and nurtured by him during the past two decades came in handy. These interactions have made me appreciate and see value in innovations beyond research laboratories and formal systems. My past exchanges with policymakers like the late Dr N. Seshagiri and N. Vittal convinced me that creative and ‘out of the box’ approaches can produce innovative ideas in rigid bureaucratic frameworks too. Many such ‘policy innovations’ feature in this book. The same holds good for ideas emanating from civil society movements, business and marketing, industry, entertainment and so on. That’s how the century in this book was scored.

The idea of this book originated from Chirag Thakkar, Commissioning Editor at Roli, who reached out to me first in August 2019 via my website. We discussed the possibility of a book on ‘100 transformative innovations’ in the lounge of India International Centre (IIC) over cookies and coffee. It set me thinking, and after a series of email exchanges, I had a draft list of innovations that we discussed at the Roli office with Priya Kapoor and the team. One of the valuable outcomes of the brainstorming was the need to highlight the people behind innovations and dissemination. A few close friends – historians, senior journalists, academics and social scientists – informally vetted the list or parts of it. Yet, I am conscious that the final list remains a subjective one and may attract criticism for overlooking some innovations while including others perceived as ‘less deserving’.

By the time I finally got down to writing, the pandemic was already knocking at India’s doors, rather, airports and ports. Most of the core writing was done during the lockdown and ‘unlocking’ period in the first half of 2020. I could write swiftly because the chapters are modular though connected in some ways. With ‘work from home’ setting in, everyone in the family – Annu, Maanvi and Kushagr – was around, making the writing exercise enjoyable and stimulating. I revised the text in 2021 – and updated the list to include pandemic-related ideas – while working from the IIC library, which provides a great ambience for serious writing work.

I am grateful to everyone who was part of the journey of this book, directly or indirectly. Special thanks are due to the editorial, design and marketing teams at Roli for their professional approach throughout this project.

Dinesh C. Sharma

New Delhi

July 2021

Introduction

India’s Innovation Journey

At the age of seventy-five, we are supposed to be past our prime and are expected to lead a quiet retired life. In the journey of a nation, however, seventy-five years is not a long period but certainly, it is time to pause and reflect. And perhaps an occasion for cautious celebration. India’s journey as an independent country began with the attainment of political freedom in 1947, but it was only the first step. The country was steeped in poverty, backwardness, illiteracy, ill health, irrationality, superstitions, inequality and injustice. The scars of long colonial rule were evident in all spheres of activity. A bunch of political leaders, scientists, engineers, industrialists and planners had done a great amount of spadework in the run-up to Independence, imagining a modern and self-reliant India. They envisaged science and technology as a major input in this process of regeneration and development. Converting these dreams – and plans – into reality was a tall order and needed massive resources and manpower. Ingenious ways had to be found to move forward and many people with the vision to find these ways did so. That’s what laid the foundation of an innovative India.

The first major test of the newly founded republic came in 1952 when the gigantic task of holding general elections in a country where barely 15 per cent of people could read and...

Table of contents

• Innovations of India