The short answer
Possessing and using explosives needs a licence from PESO under the Explosives Rules, 2008: Form LE-3 for a magazine and LE-7 for a road van. In a mine or quarry, shots may be fired only by a blaster holding a certificate recognised under the mines regulations. On work outside the mines law, such as some road cuttings, the person firing needs a shot firer's certificate in Form LE-10. Every cartridge is accounted for in a stock register.
Two regulators stand over every blast. One controls the explosive as a substance: who may make it, store it, carry it and hold it. The other controls its use in a mine: who may fire it, how, and how far everyone else must be. A site needs to satisfy both, and a client hiring a blasting contractor should know which paper answers to which.
01Who regulates what
| PESO | DGMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation | Directorate General of Mines Safety |
| Law | Explosives Act, 1884 and Explosives Rules, 2008 | Mines safety law and the Metalliferous Mines Regulations, 1961 |
| Covers | Manufacture, storage, transport, sale and possession | Use in a mine: who fires, how, danger zone, permissions |
| Typical document | Magazine licence, van licence, shot firer's certificate | Blaster's certificate, permission for deep-hole blasting |
02The licences
| Document | Form | What it permits |
|---|---|---|
| Magazine licence | LE-3 | Possessing explosives in a magazine, for sale or for use |
| Road van licence | LE-7 | Carrying explosives by road in a licensed van |
| Shot firer's certificate | LE-10 | Firing shots on sites that are not mines |
| Blaster's, mate's, foreman's or manager's certificate | Under the mines regulations | Firing shots in a mine or quarry |
Form numbers are those in the Explosives Rules, 2008, which have been amended several times. Confirm the current forms with PESO before applying.
03A magazine, or delivery on the day
A magazine is a purpose-built store, licensed for a stated quantity, sited at set safety distances from roads, buildings and other works, fenced, guarded and fitted with lightning protection. Getting one licensed takes time, because the site has to be approved before it is built and inspected after.
The alternative is to hold no stock at all. A supplier with a licensed magazine sends the day's requirement in a licensed van, the shot is charged and fired, and anything left over goes back the same day. This suits a quarry that blasts once or twice a week, a short highway cutting, and any site where a magazine cannot be placed at a legal distance from what is around it.
04Who may fire
In a mine, which in law includes a stone quarry, a shot is charged and fired by a blaster: a person holding a manager's, foreman's, mate's or blaster's certificate under the mines regulations. The regulation is specific that the blaster fires the shot personally. Helpers may carry and assist. They may not charge unsupervised or fire.
On a site that is not a mine, the equivalent is a shot firer's certificate issued under the Explosives Rules. A highway rock cutting can fall on either side of that line depending on how the work is classified, so settle with the authorities which regime applies before the first hole is charged.
05Deep-hole blasting needs its own permission
Production blasting with a crawler drill is deep-hole blasting. Under Regulation 106 of the Metalliferous Mines Regulations it needs prior notice to DGMS, and it is then carried out on the conditions the Directorate sets for that mine. The regulations define a danger zone of 300 m around a shot, and DGMS has asked mines to treat 500 m as the zone for deep-hole blasting. Where a building or other permanent structure not belonging to the owner lies inside the danger zone, blasting needs DGMS permission and follows the limits that permission lays down.
Those limits usually include a vibration ceiling, a maximum charge per delay and a requirement to monitor. What that does to the design is in controlled blasting near structures.
06Whose licence?
Explosives move and are held under a named licence, and the names on it matter. A contractor may work under its own licences, or under the client's, but not under a licence that does not cover the place, the quantity or the people involved. A blaster certified to fire in one arrangement is not automatically covered in another. Before a blasting contract is signed, put the actual documents side by side and check that the chain is complete from the supplier's magazine to the hole.
07The registers
- Stock register. Every receipt, issue and return of explosive and detonators, with a running balance that matches what is physically there.
- Daily issue and return. What left the magazine or the van for each shot and what came back.
- Blaster's record. Holes charged, quantity in each, time fired, and any misfire.
- Vibration records. The seismograph reading for each blast, where monitoring is a condition.
- Returns. The periodic returns the licence requires, filed on time.
A stock register that does not balance is the most serious finding an inspector can make. Unaccounted explosive is a police matter before it is a licensing one.
08Detonators changed in 2025
Ordinary electric detonators are now prohibited in India, and sites initiate with shock tube or electronic systems. A contractor still describing electric detonators in a method statement is working from an old template. The change is explained in electric, shock tube and electronic detonators.
09What to ask a blasting contractor for
- Copies of the licences the explosive will be stored and moved under, with validity dates.
- The blaster's certificate, and confirmation that the named person will be on your site.
- The DGMS permission letter for the mine, or the plan for obtaining one.
- A sample page of the stock register and the blaster's record from a current job.
- Vibration records from a comparable job near structures.