New Delhi, June 14 -- A government order limiting diesel purchases at petrol pumps was designed to stop industrial consumers from exploiting a pricing loophole. But for hospitals performing surgeries and data centres running on tight uptime guarantees, the consequences could be far more serious than a procurement inconvenience.

India's government moved on 11 June to bar industrial, commercial and institutional consumers from buying diesel at retail petrol pumps, capping sales through those outlets at 200 litres per customer or vehicle per day. The measure was designed to address what authorities described as "abnormal increases" in diesel and petrol sales, as bulk users shifted purchases away from dedicated supply channels and towards ch...