New Delhi, June 4 -- By the time you are done reading this sentence, over 20 cars (and 70 two-wheelers) would have been registered in India.

Together these 20 cars on an average will emit 3.15 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide for every kilometre they are driven (157.5 g CO2 per km was the corporate average for cars in 2021-22) for the rest of their operational life.

Every quarter minute, India needs a parking space equivalent to the size of a standard soccer field to accommodate new registrations.

These points are not intended to criticise car owners, neither are they meant as pleas to stop car sales in the country. They are meant to highlight the imbalance in travel choices.

Personal vehicles dominate urban mobility. India registered 2...