NITI Aayog has released the fourth edition of the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024, presenting a detailed evaluation of how prepared India’s States and Union Territories are to participate in global trade. The Index provides a data-driven view of subnational export ecosystems and their role in supporting India’s long-term export growth objectives.
NITI Aayog has issued the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024, offering a comprehensive assessment of export readiness across India’s States and Union Territories. First introduced in August 2020, the Index is now in its fourth edition and continues to track how subnational economies contribute to India’s expanding role in global trade.
Aligned with the national target of achieving USD 1 trillion in merchandise exports by 2030 and the long-term vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, the EPI evaluates the strength, resilience and inclusiveness of export ecosystems at the State and district levels. The framework highlights structural gaps, growth drivers and policy priorities needed to improve competitiveness and export capacity across regions.
At the release, the CEO of NITI Aayog noted that export performance is increasingly shaped by the preparedness of States and districts. The focus remains on improving infrastructure, reducing logistics and production costs, strengthening institutions and ensuring stable and transparent policy frameworks. Enhancing subnational export readiness was identified as essential for employment creation, balanced regional development and deeper integration into global value chains in a volatile international environment. Member Dr. Arvind Virmani underlined the importance of States and UTs in identifying strengths, addressing structural constraints and improving product quality to sustain export momentum.
Framework and Coverage
The EPI 2024 is structured around four core pillars—Export Infrastructure, Business Ecosystem, Policy & Governance, and Export Performance—supported by 13 sub-pillars and 70 indicators. The current edition expands analytical depth by introducing new dimensions such as macroeconomic stability, cost competitiveness, human capital, access to finance and the MSME ecosystem, while refining existing indicators to improve policy relevance.
Greater emphasis has been placed on districts as operational units of export competitiveness, linking national export goals with local industrial clusters, supply chains and regional capabilities.
Classification of States and Union Territories
For comparison and peer learning, States and UTs are grouped into Large States, Small States, North Eastern States and Union Territories. Within each category, jurisdictions are classified as Leaders, Challengers or Aspirers based on their level of export preparedness.
- Leaders: Higher relative export readiness
- Challengers: Moderate readiness with scope for improvement
- Aspirers: Early-stage export ecosystem development
Methodology and Data Sources
The Index follows an indicator-based methodology using official datasets from central ministries, state governments and public institutions. Indicators are normalised and aggregated with balanced weightages across pillars and sub-pillars. Methodological refinements in the 2024 edition aim to strengthen comparability, robustness and policy utility. Detailed state-wise profiles and indicator scores are available in the full EPI 2024 report.
Leading Performers
Based on the overall assessment, the leading performers under EPI 2024 are:
Large States:
- Maharashtra
- Tamil Nadu
- Gujarat
- Uttar Pradesh
- Andhra Pradesh
Small States, North Eastern States & Union Territories:
- Uttarakhand
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Nagaland
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu
- Goa
The findings highlight the growing importance of state-led export strategies in achieving India’s long-term trade and development objectives.