Agartala, July 18, 2023: NITI Aayog released the third edition of the report titled ‘Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2022’ for States/UTs of India on Monday last where Tamil Nadu under costal category scores 80.89 securing the first position among 36 states and union territories.

The report was released by Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Suman Bery.

Among the eight north eastern states of India, the PIB in a press communique informed that Assam bagged the 21st position with a score of 43.19 under landlocked category states. Manipur grabbed the 23rd position with a score of 40.77 under Himalayan category states.

Tripura, Sikkim and Nagaland secured the 26th, 27th and 28th position respectively scoring 38.30, 36.86 and 34.63, respectively under Himalayan category states. Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram scored 24.24, 19.92 and 16.96 bagging 32nd, 33rd and 35th position under Himalayan category of states.

The report presents a comprehensive analysis of India’s export performance in FY22, along with its sector-specific and district-level merchandise export trends. The EPI 2022 Report evaluates the performance of the states across four pillars – Policy, Business Ecosystem, Export Ecosystem, and Export Performance. The index uses 56 indicators which holistically capture the export preparedness of States and UTs in terms of exports at both the state and district-level, the statement reads.

These pillars are further based on ten sub-pillars – Export Promotion Policy; Institutional Framework; Business Environment; Infrastructure; Transport Connectivity; Export Infrastructure; Trade Support; R&D Infrastructure; Export Diversification; and Growth Orientation.

The report encourages state governments to create solutions to their context-specific challenges to exports. The states can also exploit their innate diversity by promoting products unique to them and helping them reach the global market. Consistent investment in research and development can foster innovation, which in turn can facilitate higher efficiency in exports, and diversification of India’s export basket. Further efforts in identification of new markets and exporting diversified products according to state’s competitive advantage can help India in improving its global footprint.