Gandhian Engineering

When the New York Times first used the evocative phrase Gandhian Engineering to describe the Tata Nano a year ago, it couldn’t have known how popular the term would eventually become. Gandhi was never known to be a big fan of science and technology, so linking engineering to his name was quite a neat feat.

The Father of the Nation was, however, famous for his frugality and the term frugal engineering has been around for a while. It was coined by Carlos Ghosn, chief of Renault Nissan, who used it to describe how Indian automobile engineers achieved so much more with the fewer resources available to them. Ghosn wasn’t imaginative enough bring Gandhiji into it, so alas, his phrase is destined to be superseded.

Gandhian Engineering has received further boosts from the speeches of RA Mashelkar and then CK Prahlad, who used the idea in his best-selling The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Be prepared to hear the term used very often at seminars.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/Corporate_Dossier/Gandhian_engineering/articleshow/3986773.cms