India media slam government

Indian newspapers heaped scorn on an embarrassed government Wednesday, saying two massive power failures that blacked out half the country had made it an international laughing stock.

"Superpower India: RIP," was the front-page verdict of the Economic Times, above the sub-heading "The New Idea of India: Push 50 Percent into Darkness." Noting the global headlines generated by the monster outages on Monday and Tuesday that affected more than 600 million people, the newspaper said India's image as an IT hub and the world's back office had "taken a beating".

Under the banner "Powerless and Clueless" the Times of India mocked the government's decision -- announced as Tuesday's crisis was still playing out -- to promote power minister Sushilkumar Shinde to home minister.

With the country in the middle of an "unprecedented power crisis" the cabinet reshuffle was "like changing the captain of the Titanic when it's reeling after hitting a giant iceberg", the Times said. "Unless we can summon up the political will to make systemic changes, this is going to happen again," it added.

The Hindi-language press was equally scathing. "People Drown in the Darkness of Government," ran the front-page splash in the Dainik Jagran, India's largest circulation daily. In an editorial titled "Delhi is Powerless," the Hindu newspaper acknowledged that India was not the only country to suffer cataclysmic power outages.

"But unlike elsewhere, where grid collapses are usually caused by freakish acts of nature, the latest darkness at noon in India is the result of poor long-term planning and abysmal lack of grid discipline," it said.