The word ‘jugaad' (a colloquial Hindi word for innovatively solving complex problems) is not alien to us anymore. A lot of innovation has happened in India pushing boundaries and eking out the best with limited resources.
Take for example the radical innovation by Tata Motors. The Nano has revolutionised automobile manufacturing and distribution. It might be called a poor man's car, but the low price has triggered worldwide interest and surge of orders even in a struggling auto market.
To me, market disruption happens when you move from customer wants to customer needs. Here is an interesting example of the origin of shampoo sachets in India. The concept of bottled shampoos was not an affordable solution for the low/mid-income class in India. This sparked an idea by CK Ranganathan, the Chairman and Managing Director of a pharmaceutical company, Cavinkare. He showed how it was possible to compete with MNCs even in a tough market such as fast moving consumer goods. He introduced the brand ‘Chik' shampoo in a sachet, priced at Rs1. People liked this concept and soon the sales of the shampoo doubled in two years.
To realise how to manufacture need, innovation should be at the forefront. The top management drowns itself with trying to understand customer wants, facilitating them, expanding in geographies, cutting losses, and fending off competition. Who's doing the disruptive thinking? So, strip out of the routine work, pause, think, debate, deliberate and discuss. Only with time and persistence will ideas strike.
The India story
Technological disruption does not and cannot happen in isolation. It is about understanding consumers, finding patterns and then radically changing them. It is a paradoxical thought process. To create the unknown, you realise and understand what is known, then you go bonkers and manufacture something that is unnecessary, but a must have of the future.
Take for example, something as simple as plastic. Today, it is ubiquitous. Plastic's presence is invaluable and we come to contact with it every day. There was a time when people never saw the need for it. It never occurred that plastic can be a substitute for wood and different metals, ushering in a new era of cheap production and increased utility.
The Indian manufacturing sector has suffered a massive slump. Despite the stagnation in this period, the Indian government had come up with several policies. As part of India's National Manufacturing Policy (NMP), the country is seeking to boost the sector's growth in the next decade by ramping up its share in the GDP to 25 percent from the current 15-16 percent.
India has a number of factors working for it. With growing costs in China, India's superior currency competitiveness, cheap labour, and demographic advantage, India is poised to capitalise on this sector. Capital expenditure is set to spike in the coming years as companies increasingly focus on India's labour intensive and skill power. China's domination as the global workforce of the world is waning and India's thrust is one to watch out for.
