Why in News ?

NITI Aayog in partnership with the Institute of Competitiveness released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020.

Aim and Structure

To examine export preparedness and performance of Indian states,

• EPI intends to identify challenges and opportunities;
• Enhance the effectiveness of government policies;
• Encourage a facilitative regulatory framework.

The structure of the EPI includes 4 pillars and 11 sub pillar

• • Policy
  • Business Ecosystem
  • Export Ecosystem
  • Export Performance
• 11 sub pillars Includes : 1. Export Promotion Policy 2. Institutional Framework 3. Business Environment 4. Infrastructure 5. Transport Connectivity 6. Access to Finance 7. Export Infrastructure 8. Trade Support 9. R&D Infrastructure 10. Export Diversification 11. Growth Orientation.

Export Preparedness Index 2020

• Coastal States are the best performers among them Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu occupy the top three ranks.
• Six of eight coastal states feature in the top ten rankings.
• Among the landlocked states Rajasthan is the best performer followed by Telangana and Haryana. 
• Himalayan states, Uttarakhand is the highest, followed by Tripura and Himachal Pradesh.
• Union Territories, Delhi has performed the best, followed by Goa and Chandigarh.
• Two landlocked states Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand initiated several measures to promote exports.
• Three fundamental challenges
  • Intra- and inter-regional disparities in export infrastructure.
  • Poor trade support and growth orientation among states.
  • Poor R&D infrastructure to promote complex and unique exports.

How to tackle the challenges ?

Emphasize on key strategies to address these challenges

• A joint development of export infrastructure
• Strengthening industry-academia linkages
• Creating state-level engagements for economic diplomacy.

Revamped designs and standards for local products. Thus harnessing the innovating tendencies to provide new use cases for such products, with adequate support from the Centre.

For tackling the post COVID19 challenges it is important to increase exports from all the states and union territories. EPI can be used for evaluating the weak areas. Improving the weakness and increase the export. 

Source :  PIB

Topic

Prelims : EPI aim and structure

GS III : Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment

Compilation for : 27 August 2020