"The book provides an overview of the mineral industry, policy issues, related acts and legislation and the socio-economic scenario of the mining sector. It gives an understanding of historical development of policies and the position of Indian mineral sector with respect to other industrialized nations that can help the mineral industry to become globally competitive. It also evaluates the contribution of the mining sector to sustainability and development of both. This book provides a comprehensive picture of the mineral sector, challenges faced by the industry and sustainable development of mineral resources. It is primarily based on the information made available by the government agencies in the public domain. However, such information is sporadic, inconsistent, and difficult to interpret. Continuous mining of minerals, the discovery of new mineral deposits, and import-export-stockpiling of minerals greatly influences the economics of mineral commodities. These data must be perpetually updated in order to provide future perspective and frame the policies at the government level. Therefore there is always a need for an updated, compiled and properly interpreted database in respect to the contemporary world scenario. It is in this perspective that the proposed book has been designed"--