The study by ARAI also reveals that these reasons have led to higher operational costs of owning a car in India is higher compared some of the advanced countries. The cost of owning a vehicle includes expenses incurred towards acquisition, fuel and maintenance.

ARAI says that fuel expenses alone account for about 30 percent of the operational costs of running a vehicle in India and adding to that is the poor road conditions which playa vital role in determining the cost and efficiency of the fuel.

Rashmi Urdhwareshe, director of ARAI, said while speaking ahead of the four-day Symposium on International Automotive Technology (SIAT) that will begin on January 18, 2017, that emission performance is governed more by infrastructure-related factors than by vehicle design.

There have been talks about a standard road as a policy and discussions in research circles for a while though not much has translated on the ground.

ARAI has developed a digital solution called ‘Marg' to understand road profiles much better, which is being used by designers in various automobile manufacturer's factories to design and develop automobiles that are more adjusted to the prevailing road conditions.

Urdhwareshe further said that in advanced countries, it is easier to get better fuel efficiency and also measure emissions of vehicles on theroad because vehicles move at a constant speed.

From April 2017 all two and four-wheelers will move to a unified Bharat Stage (BS) - IV emission norms in the country. Most of the car manufacturers have moved to the new emission norms.

Looking to tackle the most difficult and hard terrain Indian roads? Ford India has launched its solid built Endeavour SUV in the country and it can take on some of the roughest and hardest Indian roads. Below is an extensivephoto gallery of the Ford Endeavour, click to view.