In 2002, the minerals industry of India produced more than eighty mineral commodities in the form of ores, metals, industrial minerals, and mineral fuels. The nation was among the world's leading producers of iron ore, zinc, and bauxite. In 2001, India also produced lead, silver, uranium, asbestos, salt, and limestone.

In 2001, about 60,000 carats of diamonds were produced. Other mineral production included 30,900 tons of mined copper ore, 1.68 million tons of gross weight chromite, 2.25 million tons of gypsumm and 1,300 tons of crude mica. There were extensive workable reserves of fluorite, chromite, ilmenite (for titanium), monazite (for thorium), beach sands, magnesite, beryllium, copper, and a variety of other industrial and agricultural minerals.

Given the country's relatively well-developed manufacturing base, items like textile goods, engineering goods, leather manufactures, gems and jewelry, and chemicals now comprise the country's leading exported items, replacing jute, tea, and other food products that dominated exports in the 1960s and early 1970s.