Mineral and power resources play an important role in the industrial development of a nation. They provide the industrial raw materials and fuel.
Minerals
Minerals are classified into metallic and non-metallic minerals. Metallic minerals can be further grouped into ferrous and non-ferrous.
Mineral fuels are coal, petroleum, and natural gas. India's position is particularly good in the metallic minerals of ferrous group. It is well endowed with iron ore of high quality. India has rich deposits of mica and bauxite. It is also one of the leading producers of mica in the world.
Coal is the primary source of power in India. It occurs in the rock formations of Gondwana and Tertiary age. Gondwana coal fields account for 96% of the total reserves and production in India. India’s position is not satisfactory in the reserves as well as production of petroleum. Assam belt and Gujarat-Cambay and Bombay High belt are the two important petroleum producing regions in India. Uranium and thorium are the two important atomic minerals in India.
The major problems faced by mineral resources are depletion of mineral resources, ecological problems, pollution and social problems. Various methods are adopted for conservation of mineral resources. The measures are reclamation, recycling, substitution and more efficient uses.
Recently some on-shore as well as off-shore oil fields has been discovered. On-shore oil fields are discovered in the state of Rajasthan where as offshore oil fields are discovered along the coast of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Natural gas is emerging as an important source of commercial energy because in recent years more and more reserves are discovered at eastern coast namely Krishna, Godavari and Mahanadi basins.
Energy
Energy is a highly important infrastructural resource for the economic development of a country. Main sources of power are coal, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear power and water power. All these sources are known as the conventional sources of energy.
Power generated by the use of coal petroleum and natural gas is called thermal energy. These sources of energy are exhaustible and non-renewable. They cause pollution. Hydel power is a renewable and pollution free source of energy. Its maintenance costs are very low. Nuclear power is source of power. It requires huge capital. Careful handling and security measures are necessary for the protection of life all around their sites.
Coal based thermal power plants are located either near the coal fields or near the consumption centres. These plants are largely located in Madhya Pradesh, Chhatishgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa. However, thermal plants on the borders of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are also very important as they serve far off regions in these three states.
There has been sufficient development of hydel power in the southern states. India has developed about 50 percent of its total water power potential. Sun, winds, tides, hot springs, biogas are the alternative sources of power. They are known as non-conventional sources of energy. They are renewable, pollution free and inexpensive. There is a slow progress in the utilisation of these sources for want of suitable and economically viable technologies.
Industries
The processing of natural resources into more useful items is called manufacturing. Economic development of a country is directly linked with the level of industrial development. In India the share of manufacturing industries in GDP has been increasing, over the period, especially in post-economic reforms period.
Before independence, India was industrially less developed. But after independence India initiated industrial development in a planned manner during its Five Year Plans. Today, India exports a large number of industrial goods to different countries of the world.
Industries can be classified into different categories on the basis, such as of sources of raw material, ownership, functions, size of industry and weight of raw material and finished products. Since India is still an agricultural country, it has developed various agro-based industries such as cotton textile, woolen textile, jute textile and sugar industry.
Cotton textile industry is the largest organised sector industry in India. India is also endowed with various minerals, enabling the country to establish various mineral based industries such as iron and steel, heavy engineering, automobiles, chemicals and petro chemical industry.
The Government of India framed policies which have made India self reliant in various sectors of industries. Liberalization, globalization and privatization have helped in bringing foreign capital and modern technology into the country. Private enterprise is being allowed to enter into various core sectors. This, has resulted into the faster growth of industrial sector.