As the launch date for the Tata small car, the Rs 1 lakh Nano draws closer, Tata Motors is facing vastly changed conditions from the time the car was unveiled. While unveiling the Nano at the January 2008 Auto Expo, Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata had promised to live up to the promised price tag of Rs1 lakh for the Nano, while commentators had maintained that the company would live up to its commitment, at least till the launch of the car this October.

Since then, consumers have been hit by double-digit inflation, soaring fuel prices, higher interest rates and higher excise duty on cars - and that is just on the demand side. Carmakers including Tata Motors are suffering supply constraints such as rising prices of steel and other raw materials.The Nano has already received enough publicity to last it several years. Expectations from the small car at present are sky-high and Tata's biggest job on hand is to fulfill them.