Tata’s one lac car the Nano is now officially road worthy. The car was successfully ‘homologated’ by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), which handed over the Nano’s clearance certificate to Tata Motors last week.

This means that the car has met all the specified criteria for roadworthiness laid out by the government including emissions or noise & vibration and can now ply on Indian roads. The innovatively-designed Nano went through more than 100 tests of various kinds at the ARAI’s Pune facility over a period of four months. It conforms to Euro IV emission standards which will come into effect in India in 2010. When Tata Motors first announced the Nano project, there was a lot of scepticism over its cost target as well as technical specifications. But the road-worthiness test has now proved what Tata brass have been claiming so far — that the Nano will be the most fuel efficient car in India.

The Nano is fitted with a twin-cylinder 623 cc rear mounted petrol engine that generates 33 horse power. Those dimensions make it the smallest engine in India but sources say the Nano managed to score around 24 km per litre during its ‘homologation’ tests with ARAI. Although the ARAI score is under standard and not in city driving conditions, the Nano is expected to deliver a standard mileage of over 20 kmpl when it actually rolls out on Indian roads. This would make it more fuel efficient than the Maruti Alto small car, currently top of the mileage heap.