Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu lead NITI Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index 2024

Maharashtra has topped the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024 released by NITI Aayog, emerging as the leading large state on export readiness, according to an official statement on Wednesday.

The fourth edition of the index, unveiled by the government think tank, offers a comprehensive assessment of export preparedness across states and Union Territories.

Among large states, Maharashtra was followed by Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh as top performers.

In the category covering small states, North Eastern states and Union Territories, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, and Goa emerged as leaders.

Releasing the report, NITI Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam said that as India expands its network of Free Trade and Economic Partnership Agreements, the importance of strong domestic foundations only grows.

"For states, this means fostering ecosystems that can respond to new opportunities, align with global standards, and build competitiveness across districts," Subrahmanyam said.

The EPI 2024 is structured around four pillars, broken down into 13 sub-pillars and 70 indicators, providing a granular and policy-relevant evaluation of export ecosystems at the state and district levels.

For comparative assessment and peer learning, states and UTs have been grouped into large states, small states, North Eastern states and Union Territories, and further classified as leaders, challengers and aspirers.

Subrahmanyam said India’s export trajectory is increasingly shaped by the preparedness of states and districts. He stressed the need to strengthen export infrastructure, improve cost competitiveness, build robust institutions and ensure predictable and transparent policy environments to sustain long-term growth.

The Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024 uses a consistent, data-driven approach to evaluate multiple factors, including export policies, business environment, quality of infrastructure, and export outcomes.

Data is collected from both state and central government sources, and each indicator is assigned a weight based on its importance.

The first edition of the Export Preparedness Index was published in August 2020.