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Theme of 46th Engineer’s Day
Frugal Innovation
Achieving More with Fewer Resources
Dr. Narendra Kumar Agnihotra
TCE QSTP-LLC, Doha, Qatar
Email: nkagnihotra@tce.co.in

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 Original, new and important
- in whatever field – actually
changes market or social
practices like telephone,
computer, Internet etc
Are Innovation &Invention the same ?
 Most Innovation fail and
companies that don’t innovate
die.
 Invention involves the creation of new things from new ideas
 Innovation is the application of new solutions that meet new
requirements

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Need of the World
 Often a new technology or market needs a new business model
 There are lead markets
 High tech for the US, UK & Developed Countries
 Miniaturization for Japan
 Low cost innovation including bottom of the pyramid in Developing
& Poor Countries.

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Frugal Innovation for Whom
 According to C.K. Prahalad, author of The Fortune at the Bottom of
the Pyramid , 2005, low income potential customers are ignored
by the large organizations.
© Yasser Bhatti, 2011

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Frugal Innovation for All
High Purchasing
Power
Low Purchasing
Power
Potential and
Emerging
Market for
sustainable
profit
 Sustainable Market : 4 to 5 billion of the 7.0 billion people in worldwide

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 Process of reducing the complexity and cost of products or
services without sacrificing quality
Frugal Innovation or Engineering ?
 Carlos Ghosn, 2006, the joint chief of auto majors Renault-Nissan
Alliance
 Gandhian Engineering – Getting more from less, for more and more
 High value science that delivers for poor
 There is enough on Earth for everybody's need, but not enough
for everybody's greed.
Also known as reverse innovation
Create market, solutions / products / services / opportunities in
adverse circumstances

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Is Frugal Innovation, Innovation ?
 Low-cost design.
 Product development
efficiency
 Capital efficiency
 Manufacturing simplicity
 Optimizing customer
Interface features
 Eliminating non-value
adding features
Purchasing
Power
Resources
Management
Innovative
Engineering
/Redesign
Frugal
Engineering

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Disruptive Innovation
 Address the basic needs of the bottom of pyramid with affordable
solutions.
 Disrupt existing dominant technology or product / service in the market
 Prof. Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School, conceptualized
idea and principles

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Frugal Is Not Only Cheap
Frugal
Cheap
Standard
Cost
Performance/Quality
R&D/Innovation
Innovation

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I observed families riding on two-
wheeler the father driving the
scooter, his young kid standing in
front of him, his wife seated
behind him holding a little baby.
It led me to wonder for such a car,
which is safe and affordable to
any middle class family.
How the dream come ?
 Common picture in India

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World’s Cheapest Car: Tata Nano
 Innovation: 31 design and 37 technology patents
 Cheapest car in the world with a cost of $2000.

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Chotu Kool
 Developed by Godrej and a good example of disruptive innovation
 In India, only 20 % have access to a cooling device as against 92%
in United States and 78% in China.
 ―Chotukool‖ is simple and elegant in design at a cost of less than $70.

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Cheapest Mobile & Telecom Services
Kar lo Duniya Mutthi Me
 Mobile cost is less than $20
 Calls and text messages at less
than $0.01 a minute

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Tata Swach Water Purifier
 World’s cheapest household water purification system introduced by
Tata Chemicals Ltd. in 2009
 World’s ―lowest cost‖ purifier,
providing safe drinking water at
Rs 0.10 per liter ~ approx $0.002
 Cost of Tata Swach is around $20
 Availability of clean drinking water is a major problem Worldwide
 Natural materials and cutting edge
nanotechnology that can eliminate
~90% of the contaminants, pathogens
Tata Swach

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One Tablet at Cost $40
 Canadian company Datawind has launched a $40 tablet, with
schools in India being its target market.
 2 million tablets,
branded Aakash (sky),
from Datawind as part
of the National Mission
on Education, at cost
$35— with subsidies,
for students and
teachers.

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Aravind Eye Clinics
 Founded in 1976 by Dr Govindappa
Venkataswamy , retired eye surgeon
 According to WHO: 285 million people are
visually impaired worldwide: 39 million are
blind and 246 have low vision.
 Medicated more than 32 million patients in
last 36 years
 Auro Lab: manufacture Intra-ocular lenses (IOL) at the cost of $2 only
 Cataract operation cost in USA is $2500 – $3000
 Target cost in India - $50, but no compromise on quality
 Learning from other sectors – the McDonalds approach

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Jaipur Leg/Foot
 Jaipur leg is a low cost prosthetic leg of cost less than $30.
 Jaipur leg/foot is a rubber-based prosthetic leg for people with below-
knee amputations

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Low Cost ECG, Baby Warmer & Ultrasound Scan
 GE developed an ultra low-cost
Electrocardiogram (ECG) for rural India
 Portable, battery operated, easy to use
and easy to repair
 $800 vs. $5000
 Inbuilt printer and good connectivity
 ―Lullaby‖ GE baby warmer
 Designed for maternity homes and
hospital
 $3000 vs. $12000
 Reportedly sold in 62 countries

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Low Cost ECG, Baby Warmer & Ultrasound Scan
 Small and lightweight, Vscan can travel with patient in remote area
 Vscan is a handheld, pocket-sized visualization tool powered by
Ultrasound technology to inspect patients

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Recycled Plastic Bottle House
 Bullet and Earthquake-proof
and more durable then brick
houses
Plastics Road Bridge
 Bridge is 27 metres long by 5
metres wide, weighs 80 tonnes
Recycled Materials
 50 years without repairs, as
the composite material does
not suffer corrosion

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A Liter Light

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Thank You