Peninsular India, which is rich in natural resources, plays a significant part in the country's economic development. Peninsular India's importance stems mostly from the advantages provided by its geographic location and rock formations.

• Both metallic and non-metallic minerals abound in India's Peninsular region. This physiographic region is rich in mineral ores such as iron, manganese, copper, bauxite, chromium, mica, gold, silver, zinc, lead, mercury, coal, diamond, precious stones, marble, building materials, and ornamental stones. Approximately 98 percent of India's Gondwana coal reserves are situated in the Peninsular Region.
• A large portion of Peninsular India is covered in black earth (Regur Soil). Cotton, millets, maize, pulses, oranges, and citrus fruits can all be grown well in the regur soil. Tea, coffee, rubber, cashew, spices, tobacco, groundnut, and oilseeds can all be grown in some areas of south Peninsular India.
• Large areas of Archaean, Dharwar, Cuddapah, and Vindhyan formations in the southern and eastern parts of Peninsular India have acquired red, brown, and laterite soils over time. The foundations of the rural economy are these soils.
• Thick tropical moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests cover the Western Ghats, Nilgiris, and Eastern Ghats. Teak, sal, sandalwood, ebony, mahogany, bamboo, cane, rosewood, ironwood, and logwood, as well as a wide range of forest products, are all found in these woods.
• The rivers that flow eastward into the Bay of Bengal provide a series of gorges, waterfalls, rapids, and cataracts that have been used to generate hydropower. The rivers that originate in the Western Ghats provide excellent opportunities for hydropower generation and irrigation of agricultural crops and orchards.
• Ooty, Udhagamandalam, Kodaikonal, Mahabaleshwar, Khandala, Metheron, Pachmarhi, and Mount Abu are among the most important hill stations and hill resorts.
• Apart from teak and fuelwood, the forests of Western and Eastern Ghats are rich in medicinal plants.
• Many scheduled tribes reside in the Peninsula's hilly and mountainous regions. Dravidian culture predominates south of the Vindhyans.