“NITI Aayog releases Export Preparedness Index 2024”

NITI Aayog has released the fourth edition of the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024 to benchmark Indian states and Union Territories (UTs) on their readiness to drive and sustain global trade.

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¨     The Index recognises the diversity of subnational economic structures and their critical role in advancing India’s global trade ambitions.
¨     Index is aligned with India’s objective of achieving USD 1 trillion in merchandise exports by 2030 and the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
¨     The Index identifies key structural challenges, growth levers, and policy opportunities for enhancing export competitiveness at the State and district levels.
¨     The first edition of the EPI was published in August 2020.
Framework and Coverage
¨     The Export Preparedness Index 2024 follows a data-driven, indicator-based methodology, drawing upon official datasets from Central Ministries, State Governments, and public institutions.
¨     Indicators are normalised and aggregated using appropriate statistical techniques, with balanced weightages assigned across pillars and sub-pillars to reflect their relative contribution to export preparedness.
The EPI 2024 evaluates performance across four primary pillars, comprising 13 sub-pillars and 70 indicators

Pillar	Weightage	Sub-Pillars
Business Ecosystem	40%	a) Macroeconomic Environment b) Cost Competitiveness c) Human Capital d) Finance and Tax Ease e) MSME Ecosystem f) Industrial and Innovation Environment
Regulatory Infrastructure	20%	a) Utilities b) Ease of Logistics
State Capability and Governance	20%	a) State-level Governance Capacity and Administration b) Regulatory Environment and Compliance
Investment Promotion	20%	a) State-level Investment and Incentives b) Investment Facilitation and Support c) Investment Promotion and Market Access

Categorization of States/UTs & their Performance
¨     For comparative assessment and peer learning, States and UTs have been categorised into Large States and Small States, North East States & Union Territories.
Within each category, they are further classified as –
¨     Leaders (relatively high export preparedness)
¨     Challengers (moderate preparedness and scope for improvement)
¨     Aspirers (early stages of export ecosystem development)
Based on the overall assessment under EPI 2024, the following States and UTs have emerged as leading performers in their respective categories:
A. Large States

State	Score	Category Rank	EPI 2024 Classification
Maharashtra	68.01	1	Leader
Tamil Nadu	64.41	2	Leader
Gujarat	64.02	3	Leader
Uttar Pradesh	62.09	4	Leader
Andhra Pradesh	60.65	5	Leader
Karnataka	59.30	6	Leader
Punjab	58.32	7	Leader
Telangana	57.14	8	Leader
Madhya Pradesh	57.00	9	Challenger
Haryana	55.01	10	Challenger
Kerala	53.76	11	Challenger
West Bengal	53.03	12	Challenger
Odisha	48.51	13	Aspirer
Chhattisgarh	48.50	14	Aspirer
Rajasthan	47.31	15	Aspirer
Bihar	46.31	16	Aspirer
Jharkhand	42.49	17	Aspirer

B. Small States, North-Eastern States & Union Territories

State / Union Territory	Score	Category Rank	EPI 2024 Classification
Uttarakhand	52.07	1	Leader
Jammu & Kashmir	51.08	2	Leader
Nagaland	46.42	3	Leader
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu	46.24	4	Leader
Goa	44.60	5	Leader
Tripura	42.82	6	Leader
Assam	42.45	7	Leader
Puducherry	41.21	8	Leader
Chandigarh	40.57	9	Leader
Meghalaya	37.50	10	Challenger
Ladakh	35.89	11	Challenger
Delhi	35.43	12	Challenger
Himachal Pradesh	35.01	13	Challenger
Sikkim	33.75	14	Challenger
Arunachal Pradesh	31.46	15	Aspirer
Andaman & Nicobar Islands	31.01	16	Aspirer
Mizoram	30.24	17	Aspirer
Manipur	28.29	18	Aspirer
Lakshadweep	22.76	19	Aspirer

India Exports – Trends
¨     India’s total exports have touched an all-time high of US$824.9 billion in the financial year 2024–25, as per the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India.
¨     This marks a growth of 6.01% over the previous year’s export figure of US$778.1 billion, setting a new milestone in the country’s trade trajectory.
¨     Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu continue to be India’s top exporting states, collectively accounting for approximately 56% of the country’s total exports.