New Delhi Mar 25 PTI Gujarat for the second consecutive year has topped the Niti Aayogs Export Preparedness Index 2021 which is aimed at assessing the readiness of the states in terms of their export potential and performance Gujarat was followed by Maharashtra Karnataka Tamil Nadu Haryana Uttar Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Punjab Andhra Pradesh and Telengana according to the government think tanks report Union territories and states like Lakshadweep Arunachal Pradesh Mizoram Ladakh and Meghalaya were placed at the bottom The index prepared in partnership with the Institute of Competitiveness can be used by states and Union Territories UTs to benchmark their performance against their peers and analyse potential challenges to develop better policy mechanisms to foster export-led growth at the sub-national level The ranking is based on four main pillars policy business ecosystem export ecosystem and export performance and 11 sub-pillars like export promotion policy and business environment The indexs primary goal is to instil competition among all states coastal landlocked himalayan and UTscity-states to bring about favourable policies ease the regulatory framework create necessary infrastructure and assist in identifying strategic recommendations for improving export competitiveness Releasing the report NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said growth of Indias exports is 36 per cent while the world trade growth is 30 per cent After a very long time we will see Indias share in world merchandise trade increasing from 16 to 17 per cent he said adding sectors which contributed in the growth include vehicles electrical machinery iron and steel Kumar said that the value of global trade is USD 24 trillion of which Indias export is worth USD 400 billion so there is massive potential He called for a target to quadruple Indias share in the global trade in the next ten years He also urged all the states to have district export plans and promotion committees The ranking showed that there are some states which can do much better by preparing an institutional and policy framework for exports Kumar said adding that some of the performances of missions abroad can be measured in terms of export expansion in their markets The vice chairman also suggested that the exim export-import policy of the country should cater to different categories of states because I think that is what will take our exports from landlocked and from double landlocked states like Punjab or Himalayan states and make that effort and bring them at par with other states Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said that exports have done extremely well and crossed USD 400 billion-target ahead of schedule despite issues like shortage of containers shipping freights shortage of chips and semiconductors About 18 per cent of the economy is merchandise exports I think we should be aiming at something like 25 per cent of the GDP to be actually traded he said adding the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade DPIIT comes out with ODOP One District One Product programme which has actually created a buzz all around and we have actually built on that to have district export hub initiative which we are trying to convert into a scheme He said that though states like Gujarat and Maharashtra are performing greatly there is a need to push exports from regions like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh We will soon be launching a portal which will have export data -- country and commodity wise It will also provide a real time data of exports from states and possibly from districts I think we should get it going in April Subrahmanyam said He added that there are gaps in data right now Citing an example he said currently a lot of export is credited to Kandla or Nhava Sheva or Kakinada but those goods may be originating elsewhere We are trying to improve that so that it also tells us the source so that we can actually trace the export back we will be coming with that in a month or two he added NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant emphasised that the second edition of the index will be a significant catalyst for promoting competitive federalism and a fair contest among states and UTs in the global export landscape States and UTs have to take a lead if exports have to grow at a sustained basis for a longer period of time Kant said Around 70 per cent of exports have been dominated by five states -- Maharashtra Gujarat Karnataka Tamil Nadu and Telangana he added PTI RR CS RR HVA HVA

New Delhi Mar 25 PTI Gujarat has topped Niti Aayogs Export Preparedness Index 2021 followed by Maharashtra Karnataka in the second and third place respectively according to the government think tanks report released on Friday The Export Preparedness Index assesses the readiness of the states in terms of their export potential and performance Other states in the top five ranking include Tamil Nadu and Haryana as per the report PTI RR DRR DRR