NITI Aayog Releases Trade Watch Quarterly With Focus On India's Automotive Exports

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Jan 7 (KNN) NITI Aayog has released the fifth edition of its flagship publication Trade Watch Quarterly, offering a data-driven assessment of India's trade performance in the first quarter of FY 2025–26 (April–June 2025), with a special thematic focus on the structure, competitiveness, and future potential of India's automotive exports.

The report was unveiled in New Delhi on January 6 by Dr. Arvind Virmani, Member, NITI Aayog, in the presence of senior officials and stakeholders.

The latest edition highlights key structural shifts in India's trade profile amid evolving global economic conditions. It notes a rising contribution of technology-intensive exports, the continued resilience of services-led growth, and notable changes in import composition, reflecting India's deeper integration into global value chains.

The analysis underscores how these trends are reshaping India's external trade dynamics in an increasingly competitive global environment.

A central feature of this quarter's publication is its in-depth thematic analysis of India's automotive exports, a sector gaining increasing global relevance.

The report examines global demand trends, India's export footprint across vehicles and auto components, tariff structures, intra-industry trade patterns, and participation in global value chains.

It highlights India's strong performance in auto components and select vehicle segments such as motorcycles and tractors, driven by expanding manufacturing capabilities and improved cost competitiveness.

While acknowledging these gains, the report points to significant untapped potential in the global automotive export market, estimated at around USD 2.2 trillion and continuing to grow.

Based on detailed mapping of global automotive trade, India's current export positioning, and stakeholder consultations, the publication identifies policy priorities to enhance competitiveness.

These include reorienting production towards high-demand segments, strengthening quality standards and certification systems, accelerating technology adoption, improving logistics, diversifying markets, and fostering stronger forward linkages within global automotive supply chains.

Speaking at the release, Dr. Virmani emphasised that enhancing export competitiveness particularly in manufacturing-intensive sectors such as automobiles will be critical for sustaining long-term economic growth and employment generation.

He noted that the current edition provides timely insights into how India can strategically position itself amid shifting global trade patterns.

The Trade Watch Quarterly is intended as a reference document for policymakers, industry participants, researchers, and academia, offering evidence-based analysis and forward-looking policy recommendations to support informed decision-making and strengthen India's trade performance in a rapidly changing global landscape.

(KNN Bureau)

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