Indian Natural Resources

Hello sir will you please tell me about the Different Types of Natural Resources Produced in India??

Natural resources are generally defined as all those things given by nature on, above and under the surface of the earth. In this broad sense natural resources include land, water, forests, fisheries and animals, mineral ores and sources of energy like coal, petroleum, gas and uranium, etc.
India is rich in natural resources. Some of its important resources arc discussed below.

1. Land Resources:
In terms of area India ranks seventh in the world with a total area of 32, 87.263 sq. km. (32.87 crore hectare).
Land utilisation figures are available for about 92.9% of total geographical area, that is, for 3,287.3 lakh hectare. Forest constitutes 21.02 per cent of the total geographical area of country. Out of a total land area of 304.2 million hectares about 170.0 million hectares is under cultivation.

2. Forest Resources:
India’s forest cover in 2007 was 69.09 million hectare which is 21.02 per cent of the geographical area. Of this, 8.35 million hectare is very dense forest, 31.90 million hectare is moderately dense forest and the rest 28.84 million hectare is open forest.

3. Mineral Resources
Iron-Ore:
India possesses high quality iron-ore in abundance. The total reserves of iron-ore in the country are about 14.630 million tonnes of haematite and 10,619 million tonnes of magnetite.

Coal and Lignite:
Coal is the largest available mineral resource. India ranks third in the world after China and USA in the realm of coal production. During 2009-10 the import and export of coal was about 67.744 MT and 2.171 MT respectively.

Bauxite:
Bauxite is a main source of metal like aluminium. The total resources of bauxite as per United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC) in the country were placed at 3,290 million tonnes as on April 1, 2005.

Mica:
India stands first in sheet mica production and contributes 60% of mica trade in the world. As per UNFC, the total resources of Mica in the country are estimated at 39,3855 tonnes.

Crude Oil:
Oil is being explored in India at many places of Assam and Gujarat. Digboi, liadarpur, Naharkatia, Kasimpur, Palliaria, Rudrapur, Shivsagar, Mourn (All in Assam) and Hay of Khambhat, Ankaleshwar and Kalol (All in Gujarat) are the important places of oil exploration in India.

Gold:
As per UNFC, total gold metal ore reserves (primary) as on April 1, 2009 were estimated at 390.29 million tonnes, with a metal content of 490.81 tonnes.

Diamond:
As per UN EC the total reserves of diamond is estimated at around 4582 thousand carats which are mostly available in panna (Madhya Pradesh).

Limestone:
Limestone is available almost in all the slates of the country and every state contributes in its production. As per UNFC, the total reserves of limestone of all categories and grades were placed at 1, 75,345 million tonnes as of April 1, 2(X) 5.

Manganese:
The total resources of manganese ore in the country are placed at 379 million tonnes. Its maximum deposit is found in Karnataka.

Copper:
As per United Nations Framework Classification (UNFC), the total resources of copper ore are placed at 1.39 billion tonnes with a metal content of 11,418 thousand tonnes.

Barytes:
It is a colourless or white mineral which consists barium sulphate. Barium metal is obtained from barytes. As per UNFC, India has got 74 million tonnes deposits of barytes as on April 1, 2005 which arc mostly available in Mangampet of Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh.

Chromite:
It is a mineral of brown black shade with which chromium and its other compounds are prepared. As per IJNFC, the total resources of chromite as on 1st April, 2005 were 213 million tonnes.

Dolomite:

As per UNFC, the reserves of all types of dolomite are estimated at 7.533 million tonnes which are mostly found in Odisha

Fluorspar:
It is a shining mineral which contains calcium fluoride. As per UNFC, the total resources of fluorite in the country as on April 1, 2005 were estimated at 20.16 million tonnes.

Gypsum:
Gypsum is a colourless or white mineral which contains calcium sulphate. The total resources of gypsum in India as per UNFC as on April 1, 2005 were estimated at 1.237 million tonnes.

Graphite:
. As per UNFC, the total resources of graphite in India as on April 1, 2005 were estimated at about 168.77 million tonnes.

Ilmenite:
. As per Department of Atomic Energy, the total deposits of ilmenite in the country are estimated to be 461.37 million tonnes which arc mostly found in the sands of eastern and western coast. Kerala, Odisha and Tamil Nadu are the states having abundant reserves of ilmenite.

Kaolin:
It is a white mineral used in making porcelain and bone china. It is also used in making medicine. The total deposits of kaolin in India are estimated to be about 2,595.66 million tonnes.

Lead and Zinc:
The main deposits of lead and zinc are found mostly in Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Gujarat, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Sikkim, but 95% of known reserves are centralised in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Nickel:
As per UNFC, the total resources of nickel ore have been estimated at 189 million tonnes. About 92% resources are in Odisha and remaining 8% are distributed in Jharkhand, Nagaland and Karnataka.

Phosphate Minerals:
Phosphate minerals are of different types—phosphorite deposits are available in Chhattarpur, Sagar and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh, Udaipur, Jaisalmer and Banswada districts of Rajasthan, Dehradun and Tehri districts of Uttarakhand and Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Tungsten:
As per UNFC, the total resources of tungsten ore in the country have been estimated at 87.39 million tonnes. The main deposits are at Degana.

Magnesite:
Magnesite is an important refractory metal which is used in making fire bricks. The total known deposits of magnesite in India as per UNEC as on April 1, 2005, were about 338 million tonnes.

Fireclay:
It is used in making bricks. As per UNFC, as on April 1, 200.”, the total reserves of fire clay in India were about 705 million tonnes.

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Answered By StudyChaCha Member