600m without power in India

India's Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde reassured people today that "electricity is being restored" after the country experienced a blackout that affected more than 600 million people.

Mr Kumar Shinde said that '40% of light' had already reached affected areas.

A commuter in India has said today that it is the second day of power outages in northern India, which has left more than 600 million people without any electricity.

The Economic Times of India is reporting that a power outage covering half the country is likely to be the largest ever in India.

Nineteen of India's 28 states with a total population of 670 million people were without power, India's NDTV said, with the lights out even at major hospitals in Kolkata.

India's demand for electricity has soared along with its economy in recent years, but utilities have been unable to meet the growing needs. India's Central Electricity Authority reported power deficits of more than 8% in recent months.

India’s Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has blamed the collapse of three power grids on states taking more than their allotted share of electricity. Mr Kumar Shinde said:

"Everyone overdraws from the grid. Just this morning I held a meeting with power officials from the states and I gave directions that states that overdraw should be punished. We have given instructions that their power supply could be cut."

Hundreds of miners were trapped today in eastern India after a massive power failure knocked out electricity supplies in half of the country, the chief minister of West Bengal state said. Mamata Banerjee told reporters in the state capital Kolkata:

She said there were "hundreds" of miners trapped in Burdwan, which is about 180 kilometres northwest of Kolkata, where mines are operated by the government- owned Eastern Coalfields Ltd.

A third enormous power cut has hit half of India leaving 600 million people without power in one of the world's biggest blackouts, say officials. The power grid is in the country's north-east area.

Subway lines were shut down in the capital New Delhi and in Kolkata as a result of power blackouts, according to local media. It caused chaos for commuters during rush hour in two of India's most populous cities.

The massive blackout affected around 600 million people in the northern and eastern states of India, and follows smaller blackouts on Monday.

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Power has been cut to hundreds of millions of people in India's populous northern and eastern states, including the capital Delhi and major cities such as Kolkata.

The second Indian power blackout as many days has hit a wider swathe of the country than the first. Many eastern and northern states are affected this time, the state-run power transmission company said in a statement.