The NITI Aayog unveiled the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024, aimed at assessing India’s states and Union Territories’ readiness for exports. This index aligns with India’s goal of achieving $1 trillion in merchandise exports by 2030 and the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. It offers a structured framework to evaluate the strength, resilience, and inclusiveness of subnational export ecosystems.
NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam emphasized the increasing influence of states and districts on India’s export trajectory. The focus is on bolstering export infrastructure, enhancing cost competitiveness, establishing strong institutions, and ensuring transparent policy environments. Strengthening export readiness at the subnational level is crucial for sustained growth, job creation, reducing regional disparities, and deeper integration into global value chains amidst global uncertainties.
The Export Preparedness Index 2024 is built on four pillars, further divided into 13 sub-pillars and 70 indicators, allowing a detailed evaluation of export preparedness. This edition introduces new aspects like macroeconomic stability, cost competitiveness, human capital, financial access, and the MSME ecosystem, while refining existing indicators for better precision and policy relevance.
States and Union Territories are categorized into large states, small states, north-east states, and Union Territories, with further classifications as Leaders, Challengers, and Aspirers for comparative assessment and learning. The focus is on districts as the primary units of export competitiveness, translating national export goals into actionable strategies based on local strengths, industrial clusters, and value-chain connections.
The Export Preparedness Index 2024 employs a data-driven, indicator-based approach, utilizing official data from Central ministries, state governments, and public institutions. Indicators are normalized and aggregated with balanced weightages across pillars and sub-pillars to reflect their impact on export preparedness. Leading performers in the large states category under EPI 2024 include Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.
