Power cuts

On Monday N K Singh, a powerful former bureaucrat and current Rajya Sabha member, may have discovered what it is like to be powerless - literally. Asked his views on the Indian economy at a panel discussion, the former member of the nineties reform "dream team" found himself facing a power outage halfway through his reply. The same thing happened a little later in the discussion when he was asked what reforms the country needed to accelerate growth. More amused than annoyed, he suggested that this was not an auspicious day for him. Ironically, Singh once chaired the national task force on power sector investment and reforms.