Export Preparedness Index 2020

NITI Aayog in partnership with Institute of Competitiveness released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020, this is the first report to examine export preparedness and performance of the states of India. Gujarat was identified as the top performing state in the category of Coastal state and also topped the Overall rankings.

India’s Exports:

• India’s merchandise exports have witnessed growth from USD 275.9 billion in 2016-17 to USD 331.0 billion in 2019-20.
• However, the Covid-19 crisis gave a major blow to the current fiscal. Consequently, India’s exports shrank by 60% in April 2020.
• This consistent positive growth has been a result of key measures adopted by the government post-2016 for the promotion of merchandise exports.
• A mid-term review of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 was conducted in 2017 to assess the policy interventions required to boost the export levels.

• A new Logistics Division was established in the Department of Commerce to organize the integrated development of the logistics sector.
• Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) was launched in 2017 to address the existing export infrastructure gaps.
• Agriculture Export Policy was rolled out to target export contribution at a micro-level.
• Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme was also introduced for the export of specified agriculture products to mitigate the disadvantage of the higher cost of transportation.

About the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020:

The structure of Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020 comprises of 4 pillars:

• Policy
• Business Ecosystem
• Export Ecosystem
• Export Performance
• The Export Preparedness Index will guide the state governments to benchmark regional performance with respect to export promotion and also provide key policy insights on how to improve and enhance the same.

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