Why in the news?

• Union Minister of Commerce and Industry launched the Trade Intelligence and Analytics (TIA) Portal.

Trade Intelligence and Analytics Portal

• What is it?: The Trade Intelligence & Analytics (TIA) Portal is a unified, data-rich digital platform to designed to make complex national and global trade data accessible, transparent, and actionable for all stakeholders..
• Aim: The portal’s primary function is to consolidate fragmented trade information and provide data-driven insights to enhance India’s trade competitiveness, support evidence-based policymaking, and simplify trade for small businesses.
• Features
  • Centralized digital hub consolidating national and global trade databases, including UN Comtrade data.
  • Automated analytics, trade indices like Trade Complementarity Index, Revealed Comparative Advantage, and Trade Intensity Index.
  • Tools for country and commodity level intelligence to identify new market and export opportunities.
  • Data extraction modules for customized trade data analysis and automated monthly trade reports.
  • User-friendly with free public access to primary dashboards; authorized users can access detailed bilateral and global data.
• Benefits
  • Democratizes trade data access, especially benefiting small businesses and MSMEs previously limited by expensive or restricted data.
  • Enhances exporters’ competitiveness by helping them understand global demand, tariff environments, and potential markets.
  • Strengthens policy formulation through evidence-based insights for identifying vulnerabilities, trade shifts, and aligning with national manufacturing and critical minerals strategies.
  • Supports broader trade diversification and enhanced utilization of trade agreements for economic growth and foreign exchange earnings.

Source: The Economic Times