1. Mineral and Energy Resources

India is endowed with a rich variety of minerals. Large size and diverse geological formations have favoured India in providing a wide variety of minerals. It has been estimated that nearly 100 minerals are known to be produced and worked in India. The country has fairly abundant reserves of coal, iron and mica, adequate supplies of manganese ore, titanium and aluminium, raw materials for refractory and limestone; but there is deficiency in ores of copper, lead and zinc. There are workable deposits of tin and nickel. India earns a lot of foreign exchange via export of a large variety of minerals such as iron ore, titanium, manganese, granite etc. while at the same time India has to depend upon imports to meet her requirements of some other mineral sources such as copper, silver, nickel, cobalt, zinc, lead, tin, mercury etc. The mineral resources in India are present in the peninsular part of the country. The vast alluvial plain tract of north India is devoid of minerals of economic use. The mineral resources provide the country with the necessary base for industrial development.