( CNN ) -- India suffered widespread power outages that plunged half the nation in darkness Tuesday , the second massive power failure in as many days . As many as 600 million people were hit by the blackout , disrupting transportation and business before power returned . The breakdown of the nation 's power grid points to another global concern : The slowdown of developing economies . After the 2008-2009 financial crisis , growth of developing economies like India and China that pulled the world out of recession -- the first time a return to growth from a global recession was n't led by the developed economies like the U.S. , Japan and Europe . So in the face of the eurozone debt crisis and tepid growth in the U.S. , the slowdown of the so-called BRIC economies -- Brazil , Russia , India and China -- is a worrisome sign , said Jim O'Neill , chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management . `` What 's going on is these countries ... is actually more important for the world than what 's going on in the eurozone , '' O'Neill , who coined the BRIC term , told CNN 's Richard Quest earlier this week . The reason ? The developing world has been creating wealth at a faster pace that Europe and North America . Last year , the BRIC economies added $ 2.2 trillion in economic growth to the world economy -- the equivalent of Italy , the 8th largest economy in the world , O'Neill said . `` So it is quite disturbing that Brazil and India have slowed down so much , obviously there 's this huge debate going on about China 's slowdown , '' O'Neill said . `` What happens with these guys is a lot more important for all of us -- including , by the way , companies in Europe that are exporting to the world . '' The two days of disruption in the third-largest Asian economy has raised questions about its investment in infrastructure . Traffic jams snarled roads as signals were out , and at least 300 trains were delayed . On Tuesday , as blackouts spread across the northern half of India , the Reserve Bank of India cut its forecast for India by nearly 1 % , estimating 6.5 % growth this year -- a far cry from 10.1 % growth in 2010 . Brazil only grew 2.7 % in 2011 , compared to 7.5 % in 2010 . And China targeted its 2012 growth at 7.5 % -- the first time Beijing set its growth rate below 8 % in eight years . As the Indian economy has grown , so has its energy appetite -- but as the blackouts show , demand is outstripping supply . `` India 's economic growth , especially the growth of the middle class and industry , is placing on the power grid has outstripped India 's ability to provide the infrastructure it needs , '' said Arun Sundararajan , professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University . `` While this is certainly a significant event it 's not something that is completely unexpected at a transition time like this in the country . '' To help build better energy infrastructure , the government needs to open up to more public-private partnerships in the power industry , as it did for its booming telecommunications industry , Sundararajan said . `` I think over the next decade the investments of the government and particularly the investments of the private sector will be a big part of the solution here , '' Sundararajan said . O'Neill says the nation needs to open up its economy to greater foreign investment . `` In India , frankly , they need to wake up and deliver some of the talk , '' he said . `` In India 's case , conceptually , it 's easy -- let foreign investors invest in important parts of their country and sectors . If they do that , then a lot of India 's problems disappear in a heartbeat . '' Not everyone is downbeat on India and the rest of the BRIC economies . `` In India , the average age of workers is 24 -- that 's exactly where China was 20 years ago , '' said Chris Devonshire-Ellis , the founding partner of Dezan Shira & Associates in Beijing , which advises firms on foreign direct investments in Asian economies . `` India right now has an existing wealthy middle class of about 250 million , the same as China . `` The interesting thing about India is that you would go there to manufacture cheaply but also make inroads to the Indian market , '' Devonsire-Ellis said . Meanwhile , Mark Mobius , executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group , says institutional investors worldwide still have a heavy appetite to invest in fast-growing , emerging markets . `` A lot of people ask me if China is going to have a hard or soft landing , '' Mobius said . `` And I say they are not landing . They 're continuing to grow and they 're growing at a pretty fast pace . '' CNN 's Richard Quest , Anna Coren , Harmeet Shah Singh and Patricia Wu contributed to this report .
The blackout that affected 600 million point to India 's infrastructure problems . O'Neill : Economic slowdown in India , other BRICs `` more important '' than EU crisis . India 's power supply has strained to keep pace with the growth of the economy . O'Neill : `` In India , frankly , they need to wake up and deliver some of the talk ''