What did Great Britain want from India during imperialism?

The British used colonial India as a source of raw materials and a market for their manufactured goods. First, India supplied the British Empire with profitable natural resources such as spices, tea, and cotton. These items could be acquired in India and sold in England or her other colonies at huge profits.

Second, Great Britain used India as a market for manufactured goods. Britain was influenced by mercantilism, an economic philosophy which advocates minimizing imports and maximizing exports. Britain loved to use her colonies (including America) as markets for her manufactured goods, in part because she could sell them there without dealing with foreign tariffs. Moreover, India--with several hundred million residents--colonial India provided Britain with a huge market in which to sell her products.