India power minister dead

Kumaramangalam was suffering from leukemia

The Indian Power Minister, Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, has died in hospital in Delhi after a short illness.

He was recently diagnosed as suffering from a form of leukemia.

Mr Kumaramangalam, who was 48, had been in intensive care at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for more than a week after developing a high fever.

He was cremated with full state honours on Wednesday.

PR Kumaramangalam 1952-2000

The BBC Delhi correspondent says Mr Kumaramangalan was an extremely popular and dynamic politician.

He entered politics when he was 18 and became a minister when he was 34 - later switching from left-wing leanings to join the right-wing BJP.

Several Indian leaders have paid rich tributes to Mr Kumaramangalam.

"The cruel hand of death has snatched away from our midst a young, dynamic national leader," Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said in a statement of condolence.

Condolences were also expressed by President KR Narayanan and visiting Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori.

In his last post, Mr Kumaramangalam pursued radical reforms to improve the ailing sector and install additional capacity to relieve India's chronic power shortages.