Srinagar: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday launched the Trade Intelligence & Analytics (TIA) Portal in New Delhi, calling it a major step toward transparency and evidence-based decision-making in India’s trade ecosystem. The digital platform consolidates global and domestic trade databases into a single analytical hub, giving importers, exporters, startups and MSMEs access to detailed market intelligence that was earlier available only to large corporations.
For Jammu & Kashmir, the portal could be transformative, enabling apple growers, carpet exporters, papier-mâché units, shawl makers, walnut traders and saffron producers to identify new markets, track tariffs, analyse demand trends and diversify exports with real-time data—something the region’s small businesses have historically lacked.
Goyal said the new platform will allow businesses in even the most remote areas to make informed decisions, particularly at a time when global tariff regimes are volatile. He stressed that stronger exports are essential to stabilise foreign exchange reserves and reduce economic vulnerability. The Minister urged stakeholders to be “more demanding”, assuring that the Ministry would coordinate across departments to resolve trade-related challenges quickly.
According to the Minister, the portal will help exporters leverage India’s Free Trade Agreements more effectively and open opportunities in the global services sector. This is especially relevant to J&K’s tourism and IT-enabled service providers, whose access to structured market intelligence has been limited.
The Commerce Ministry began developing the portal in March 2024 to support targeted, evidence-driven policymaking. The system brings together global data (including UN Comtrade) and India’s bilateral trade information to analyse trade flows with more than 220 nations. The platform replaces older systems such as the Niryat and Tradestat portals and integrates over 270 interactive visualisations across 28 dashboards, enabling granular analysis of commodities, markets, demand surges and supply gaps.
The portal features a Trade Watch Tower, dashboards for Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) commodities, tools for monitoring import/export surges, and a specialised module on critical minerals. Users can compare macroeconomic and trade indicators across countries and access advanced analytical indices such as India’s Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and Trade Complementarity Index, which help identify the best-fit export destinations for specific products.
The Ministry emphasised that the TIA Portal is a cost-effective and open-source solution with automated workflows and seamless data extraction capabilities. By replacing fragmented and manual data systems with a unified digital platform, the portal aims to improve responsiveness to emerging global trade patterns.
What This Means for J&K
New markets for handicrafts and GI products: Kashmiri carpets, shawls, papier-mâché, Kani shawls, and walnut woodwork can be aligned with countries showing rising demand, improving market diversification.
Better export planning for horticulture: Apple, cherry, pear, and walnut exporters can analyse competitor markets like Turkey, Iran, Chile and New Zealand, and identify windows of opportunity.
MSME empowerment: Small manufacturers can access the same trade data as large Indian exporters—reducing information disparity.
Boost for budding startups: The analytics tools help new firms understand global value chains, improving investment decisions and scaling strategies.
Evidence-based policy for UT administration: The J&K Industries & Commerce Department can use the system to design targeted export strategies and identify champion products.
