Opinion: Change, a Double Edged Sword

A few months ago, I was introduced to the term 'Jugaad'. Despite having lived in India for the majority of the past six years, I didn't understand what it meant. The person attempting to explain the term had a tough time trying to explain it, but eventually, I got it.

Bending rules, recycling old resources, skipping the time involved in trying to create something innovative and instead opting for what's already available...that's what 'jugaad' is.

That's the culture we live in. A culture where excellence and going above and beyond what it takes to get a job done, even it does take longer so that in the long run, efficiency is maximized- is replaced by doing "what it takes to get the job done....even if the work is sub-par.

Change: A Double Edged Sword

A new Prime Minister has been sworn in and India is in a euphoric mood. You can sense it walking down the streets. The chants of "NaMo" could be heard all across the world's largest democracy as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in earlier this week.

Modi will transform the country, the pundits claim. Infrastructure is bound to improve, they say.

When analysts ask me what sectors to bet on, now that Modi is in power, I cannot help but smile a little. I then turn to what I know is valid -- Modi's "Gujarat Model", where he was able to transform the infrastructure and agriculture sectors in the state radically and allow the state to flourish for the past 10 years, and explain that we can expect that to cross over to the national level.

But deep down, both I and the interviewer know that things are not so simple.

These elections were real change. Frustrations were so high that people did what was almost unthinkable- a single party was voted to power. Ask the common layman on the street, and he will claim that India is in for a big change. When you drill further and ask him how it will change, the inevitable answer comes: our government will fix our problems. And that is precisely wherein the problem lies.

Limitless:

We are living in a day and age where almost anything is possible. Elon Musk, a modern day Tony Stark, is living proof that a single individual is capable of accomplishing a lot and drive real change. He is almost single handedly transforming the entire automobile sector through his company Tesla Motors, which uses state of the art technology to produce environmentally friendly cars.

And yet, how many 18-25 year olds in India know the things that Musk is doing in the States?

Modi's message, from day one, has been simple -- in order for India to truly progress and show economic growth, the change must come from within. It is a cliched statement that has been thrown to the public for generations. And yet, this time around, Modi is correct. The change must come from within, not because there is no alternative, but because we finally have the means of doing it.

The greatest thing to come out of these elections is the fact that people seem to feel that there is strength and stability in the government, which was badly needed. If a country's public cannot trust the government, it cannot be expected to thrive.

But to expect one man to dramatically reduce poverty, bring GDP levels to 8 per cent, bring inflation levels down, cultivate a culture of entrepreneurship, bring down corruption levels, promote sports so that India produces more than a handful of Olympic medals every four years, and all the while ensuring that approval ratings remain high is to ask for the impossible. And yet, that is exactly what we are doing.

A New Way Forward

Often change comes from an individual level. The individual is the catalyst. Others are inspired, a movement begins, and change happens. Whether it has to do with cleaning up our environment, our education system, our tolerance towards religious, ethnic, and different societal groups- the message is clear: the change has to come from within the system.

We lament at India being labeled a third world country. We lament that despite having the world's 10th largest nominal GDP, we rank 133 in GDP per capita, and the country's ranking is likely to slip to 145 next year. We do not even know the poverty rate of our country because there is no standard way to measure it. While overall poverty seems to be on a decline on a year to year basis, the percentage of people in abject poverty is on the rise.

India is the world's largest democracy, and while democracy has its limitations, its ultimate purpose is to give power to the people. We, as Indian citizens, can create the change we want. It is our time to act. Jugaad needs to be replaced with excellence. Our education system will not fix itself; it must fixed by us, as a collective society. Individuals need to rise up and take charge.

Teenagers need to be inspired by the Ratan Tatas and Elon Musks of the world.

And so, five years from now, when we judge Modi's performance as a Prime Minister, we should not just look at what was done by the government to help the country. We should instead ask ourselves: what did I do to help the country?

And two generations from now, an NRI should ask an Indian what "Jugaad" is, and instead of being given the answer I was given, the Indian should smile, shake his head, and say "Don't worry about jugaad. That's in the past."

Raghu Kumar is the co-founder of RKSV, a leading low-cost broking firm. The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability or validity of any information given here. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing on the blog do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.