The Indian business of blowing things up is booming

THOSE WHO want to gauge India’s economic prospects often look to businesses that erect homes, produce consumer staples, manufacture inexpensive vehicles and provide basic services like electricity or discretionary ones like travel. Each of these sectors is currently sending mixed messages—enough good news to justify hope, but with caveats that counsel caution. One industry, though, is sending an unequivocal signal. And a loud one.Since April the share price of Premier Explosives has more than doubled. That of a larger maker of things that go boom, Solar Industries, has quadrupled since 2021. Other dynamite producers are enjoying a similar streak. Besides being a gift to pun-lovers, this explosive growth reflects changes in an industry well placed to capture everything that is going right for India’s economy.