New Delhi, May 26 -- On a typical working day, 40-year-old Seyievio begins his journey from Kigwema around 9:00 AM, setting out to reach his office in the Nagaland Secretariat, Kohima-roughly 20 kilometres away. What should be a smooth 45-minute drive often stretches to one or two hours, especially during peak hours. The bottlenecks in Kohima town are no surprise to him anymore. "It's predictable. I've normalised the traffic jams," he said, resignedly.

Driving his modest XUV from home to office and back, Seyievio consumes approximately five litres of petrol daily, translating to a monthly fuel expense of around Rs 10,000. For someone who regularly travels long distances, public transportation, while available, isn't always cost-effectiv...