Status Report 2016-2019 Marine Micropalaeontology: An Overview of Indian Contributions During 2016-2019 M C MANOJ, ABHA SINGH, POONAM VERMA, PAWAN GOVIL, MASUD KAWSAR, PREM RAJ UDDANDAM and VANDANA PRASAD* Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53, University Road, Lucknow 226 007, India (Received on 19 September 2019; Accepted on 29 September 2019) Marine micropaleontology concerns biostratigraphy for dating and correlation of deep time sequences as well as in palaeoceanography to understand the marine processes of the past. For this, marine micropalaeontology utilizes detailed studies on exclusively marine microbiota such as foraminifers, nannofossils, diatoms, dinoflagellates, and others. This article discusses (in detail) our present state of palaeoceanographic knowledge based on marine micropalaeontology studies in the Indian sector. A detailed literature survey showcases that numerous studies have been carried out in deep time (Jurassic - Neogene) as well as Quaternary sediments utilizing marine microfossils from India. These studies from different geological periods and regions within the Indian territory such as Jurassic (Kutch Basin), Cretaceous and Cretaceous– Paleogene (K-Pg) transition (western, peninsular and northeast India), Palaeogene (northeast and western India), Neogene (Andaman & Nicobar Islands, northeast Indian Ocean), Quaternary (Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, coastal and estuarine regions of peninsular India) have provided better insights to our previous understandings on various aspects that include biostratigraphy, paleoenvironment, evolution, ocean/land-climate variability, its dynamics and teleconnections. Keywords: Micropaleontology; Biostratigraphy; Depositional Environment; Paleobiogeography; Paleoceangraphy; Paleoclimate. *Author for Correspondence: E-mail: prasad.van@gmail.com Proc Indian Natn Sci Acad 86 No. 1 March 2020 pp. 419-444  Printed in India. DOI: 10.16943/ptinsa/2020/49818 Introduction Marine micropaleontology embraces studies on a diverse group of microfossils and modern microbiota that may be auto- or heterotrophic, planktic or benthic. The majority of marine microfossils own permineralized skeletons that are either composed of one or several common skeletal materials. For instance, in foraminifers, calcareous nannofossils, and coralline algae the skeletal material is composed of calcium carbonate; radiolarians, diatoms, silicoflagellates have skeletons composed of silica; skeletal material in acritarchs, chitinozoa, dinoflagellates, and scolecodonts is formed by organic compounds while conodont’s skeleton is made up of calcium phosphate. The efficacy of marine microfossils in geosciences and allied fields is due to their small size, profuse occurrence in variable marine environments, and broad geographic distribution in sediments spanning almost the entire geological time scale i.e., from Precambrian to Recent times. Over the years, marine microfossils have been consistently found their utilization in the field of biostratigraphy, paleoenvironmental interpretations and in recording global ocean and climate change fluctuations. In recent times, much emphasis has been on the utilization of marine microfossils in seismic calibration(s), sequence stratigraphy and related research. Moreover, the study of marine microfossils is indispensable for the oil and gas sector, where marine micropaleontology is used as a tool to steer horizontal drilling of reservoirs for cost-effective production of hydrocarbons. Keeping pace with global trends on the advancement of research on marine microfossils, the last few years/decades have witnessed remarkable contributions by micropaleontologists working on deep time (Jurassic-Neogene) as well as Quaternary sediments, in the Indian sector. In this context, the present review discusses (in detail) our present state