The cold snap has also been sweeping through many parts of the northern states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

BBC: Delhi shivers on coldest day for 44 years

The best performers: Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

BBC: Ten interesting things about India power

The government buys from relatively prosperous agricultural areas: the states of Punjab and Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

ECONOMIST: India's economic reforms

As well as elections in Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand, voters in Uttar Pradesh and Goa will also vote in the next few weeks, with results due on 6 March.

BBC: India state elections held in Punjab and Uttarakhand

Sixty-five years after Independence, only nine states - Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Goa, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu - of 28 have been officially declared totally electrified.

BBC: Ten interesting things about India power