The edict was issued after the power distribution network was damaged during recent storms.

Maharashtra state officials said industries in the affected areas have been ordered to operate only between midnight and 7am, restricting output to one shift.

Affected districts

Kolhapur Nagpur Nanded Parbhani Pune Sangli Satara Solapur

The order follows a four-hour power blackout on Wednesday in the state capital Bombay.

Problems have increased because of surging demand from air-conditioners during the hottest month of the year.

Affected companies include Tata Engineering & Locomotive Company - India's biggest truck maker - and Bajaj Auto, the second largest motorcycle maker.

Rahul Bajaj, chairman of Bajaj Auto, told the BBC's World Business Report that the problems couldn't have come at a worse time.

Wedding season

"May and June in India, in some parts of India especially, are marriage seasons," he said.

It is customary for wedding dowries to include two-wheel scooters, and he is concerned about missing out on sales.

Scooter production has been hit by the power cuts

Although Bajaj has factories in areas not affected by the electricity restrictions, manufacturers which supply Bajaj have curtailed their production and that has a knock-on effect.

Mr Bajaj said he is a private sector man and does not want to criticise the public sector, but "electricity boards are in a mess," he said.

"They must be privatised - the private sector must be allowed to produce power."

He says state governments are going bankrupt by trying to meet the losses of the electricity boards.

"If India is to move forward we have to do a lot of reforms in many areas and one of the areas where reforms are badly needed is in the public sector," he said.