Jugaad cooler: Indians are finding a way around everyday challenges

Jugaad cooler

Western management theorists may deride jugaad, but that hasn't stopped everyday Indians from finding a way around everyday challenges. With mercury crossing over 40 degrees in many places in and around Madhya Pradesh, farm tractors doubled up as drinking water kiosks at the ground where Congress President Rahul Gandhi addressed a farmers' rally. The tractors were a big hit among locals who queued up to quench their thirst. Locals also devised an interesting way to keep the water inside the tractors cool. They covered the tractors with plastic sheets which in turn were covered with ice cubes.

Bollywood hit

During a recent trip to picture-perfect Tuvalu, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey promised to send a Bollywood delegation to the island nation in 2019 to attend a local festival. That followed a gloating tribute to India's Hindi film industry paid by the host Prime Minister, Enele Sopoaga, during a speech welcoming Choubey to his country. Earlier, the junior minister from India was pleasantly surprised to find the Prime Minister of Tuvalu waiting at the airport with six of his cabinet ministers to receive him.

TMC bets on technology

Looks like the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has woken up to the potential of social media in helping it counter the growing threat from the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state. If buzz in the party circles is to be believed, some senior TMC leaders have been given the task of identifying tech-savvy workers among the Trinamool Youth Congress cadre who could be used to counter the “fake social media campaigns” allegedly mounted by the BJP, which has emerged as the main Opposition party in the state. Young leaders will be involved in the party's “organisational” work and given preferences at various levels of district leadership ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls. Giving young people more exposure and responsibility would also cut down on infighting and help keep local TMC leadership informed about the ground situation, say insiders.

Jugaad cooler: Indians are finding a way around everyday challenges