New Delhi, Dec. 6 -- Is the pace of 4.5%, the slowest in six years, the lowest point of India's gross domestic product growth?

While there is no easy answer to that question, the dimming lights in the power generation space portend a worsening economic outlook. After all, part of the economy is powered by how much electricity its factories, farms and households consume.

Electricity generation, tracked by many to gauge the momentum in the economy, saw its biggest fall in more than five years in October.

To be sure, the government and many on the Street see the 12.9% drop in October power generation as an aberration, attributing it to a combination of high base, an extended monsoon and a economic slowdown. Even then, there is no denying th...