National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), in partnership with the Institute of Competitiveness, released the 2nd edition of the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2021. Gujarat has retained the top position in the overall ranking with its total share in exports accounting for 20.83% as of 2020-2021.
- The index was released by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog in the presence of Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog and BVR Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI).
Note: The Economic Survey 2022 stated that India has already attained more than 75 % of its ambitious export target of USD 400 billion set for 2021-22.
About 2nd edition of EPI 2021:
i.2nd edition of EPI 2021 is a comprehensive analysis of India’s export achievements and the index can be used by states and UT to benchmark their performance against their peers and analyse potential challenges to develop better policy mechanisms to foster export-led growth at the subnational level.
ii.EPI 2021 brings out 3 major challenges to export promotion of India, they are,
- Intra- and inter-regional differences in export infrastructure;
- Weak trade support and growth orientation across states;
- Lack of Research and development (R&D) infrastructure to promote complex and unique exports.
Export Preparedness Index (EPI):
EPI is a data-driven initiative that aims to identify the fundamental areas critical for subnational export promotion.
Primary goal:
To instil competition among all states (Coastal, Landlocked, Himalayan, and UTs/City-States) to bring about favourable policies, ease the regulatory framework, create necessary infrastructure and assist in identifying strategic recommendations for improving export competitiveness.
Framework:
The EPI ranks the states and Union Territories(UTs) based on 4 main pillars are, Policy; Business Ecosystem; Export Ecosystem; Export Performance and 11 sub-pillars are Export Promotion Policy; Institutional Framework; Business Environment; Infrastructure; Transport Connectivity; Access to Finance; Export Infrastructure; Trade Support; R&D Infrastructure; Export Diversification; and Growth Orientation.
The 4 pillars and the rationale behind their selection are
- Policy: A comprehensive trade policy provides a strategic direction for exports and imports.
- Business Ecosystem: An efficient business ecosystem can help attract investments and create an enabling infrastructure for businesses to grow.
- Export Ecosystem: To assess the business environment, which is specific to exports.
- Export Performance: This is the only output-based pillar and examines the reach of export footprints of states and union territories.
Highlights of the report:
i.The top six states in India – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Haryana contribute 75% of India’s overall exports.
ii.Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have become the flag bearer of export lead growth. Gujarat has been leading the export contribution in India, with its total share accounting for 20.83% as of 2020-2021.
iii.Gujarat has emerged as the top-performing state in the ‘Coastal States’ category, followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka. Most of the coastal states are among the best performers.
iv.In the category of Landlocked States, Haryana was the best-performing state, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana.
v.Among the Himalayan States and UT, Uttarakhand and Delhi are the top-performing states respectively.
Note: States with higher exports also experience a high Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
Rankings:
Top 5 in the Overall ranking:
| Rank | State | Export Preparedness Scores | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gujarat | 78.86 | Coastal |
| 2 | Maharashtra | 77.14 | Coastal |
| 3 | Karnataka | 61.72 | Coastal |
| 4 | Tamil Nadu | 56.84 | Coastal |
| 5 | Haryana | 53.20 | Landlocked |
Note:
i.The top 10 performers are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
ii.Lakshadweep, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Ladakh and Meghalaya were placed at the bottom of the index.
Top 3 in Category Wise Ranking:
| Rank | State | Export Preparedness score |
|---|---|---|
| Himalayan | ||
| 1 | Uttarakhand | 40.79 |
| 2 | Himachal Pradesh | 40.43 |
| 3 | Tripura | 27.46 |
| Coastal | ||
| 1 | Gujarat | 78.86 |
| 2 | Maharashtra | 77.14 |
| 3 | Karnataka | 61.72 |
| UT/City States | ||
| 1 | Delhi | 43.66 |
| 2 | Goa | 41.95 |
| 3 | Jammu and Kashmir | 30.06 |
| Landlocked | ||
| 1 | Haryana | 53.20 |
| 2 | Uttar Pradesh | 51.09 |
| 3 | Madhya Pradesh | 51.03 |
Recent Related News:
i.On November 29, 2021, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog released a report on Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) namely ‘Designing the Future of Dispute Resolution- the ODR Policy Plan for India’ which states a futuristic model for speedy access to justice. Click here for Official Report
ii.On December 27, 2021, the 4th edition of NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog’s State Health Index for 2019–20 was released in the report titled ‘Healthy States, Progressive India’.
This edition of the report measured and highlighted the overall performance and incremental improvement of states and UTs (Union territories) in health outcomes as well as their overall status over the period 2018–19 (base year) to 2019–20 (Reference year).
About National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog):
Chairman– Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of India)
CEO– Amitabh Kant
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
