Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu lead in export preparedness

New Delhi

Gujarat topped among all the states and Union Territories in terms of export preparedness, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, according to the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) prepared by NITI Aayog.

The index categorised the states as coastal, landlocked, Himalayan and a separate category for Union Territories.

With a score of 75.19, Gujarat topped the list, while Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu scored 75.14 and 64.93, respectively.

Significantly, all the top three are coastal states which have ready port infrastructure.

"Gujarat has topped the index with a strong display in various sub-pillars such as export promotion policy, business environment and infrastructure. Notably, other coastal states such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu occupy the second and the third positions in the index," the NITI Aayog report said on Wednesday.

All the three states have performed consistently across all the pillars, thus consolidating strong scores, it noted.

Rajasthan, a landlocked state, clinched the fourth spot with a score of 62.59, and Odisha, yet another coastal state came fifth with a score of 58.23.

Amongst Himalayan states and Union Territories or city states, Uttarakhand, and Delhi are the top-performing states respectively.

The report noted that "Delhi is an anomaly because it does not provide enough trade-related support, such as a trade guide or an online portal for easy accessibility of information".

Despite these shortcomings, Delhi has been able to perform at par with high-performing states, the report said, adding that was possible as Delhi has been able to attract businesses and investments, thereby creating an enabling business infrastructure.

The national capital has tremendous potential to translate this into an ideal export ecosystem, if it gets in place the prerequisite basic infrastructure in place, it said.

Speaking at the launch of the report on the Export Preparedness Index, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said: "The Indian economy holds immense potential to become a strong exporter on the world stage. To realise this potential, it is crucial that India turns to its states and Union Territories and makes them active participants in the country's export efforts."

He added it is hoped that the detailed insights from this index will guide all stakeholders towards strengthening the export ecosystem at both the national and sub-national levels.

Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog said that the EPI is a data-driven effort to identify the core areas crucial for export promotion at the sub-national level.