Jugaad - How India's grassroots innovators electrified popular transport

An AI-generated, podcast-style audio overview of "Jugaad as Small Science: The ‘e-Rickshaw’ Conundrum in Delhi," published in HoST - Journal of History of Science and Technology, authored by Shekhar Jain and Saradindu Bhaduri of the Center for Studies in Science Policy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. Photos and videos courtesy of Shekhar Jain.

The source explores the concept of"jugaad," a form of informal, creative improvisation used to solve practical problems with limited resources. The authors, Shekhar Jain and Saradindu Bhaduri, argue that this "small science" is a legitimate and human-centered research practice that prioritizes affordability and accessibility over rigid, elite protocols. This argument is illustrated by the success of the e-rickshaw in Delhi, which thrived as a bottom-up, open-source innovation while the state-funded, over-engineered "Soleckshaw" failed. The text highlights how informal inventors use "heuristics, trial-and-error, and the repurposing of discarded materials" to meet the needs of billions in the informal economy. Ultimately, the sources propose a framework for "jugaad-science" that values sensory knowledge and local ingenuity as tools for social justice and sustainability. This approach challenges mainstream "Big Science" by demonstrating that grassroots innovation can effectively reach a "legitimacy threshold" and influence national policy.

ERRATUM: The AI hosts erroneously say the development of the soleckshaws cost "millions of dollars" They should have said "millions of rupees."

Pop Research Robot is produced by the Shared-Use Mobility Center and the Global Network for Popular Transportation.

Summary and podcast-style audio overview generated through NotebookLM(TM), managed and supervised by actual humans. Additional language and grammar editing through HemingwayApp.

Musical theme: "Hola" by Gemas Banda with music and lyrics by Andrea San Gil.