The other prominent states are Gujarat with a score of 73.22 at the fourth slot. It is followed by Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Kerala in that order in the ranking of coastal states. Among hilly or Himalayan states, Uttarakhand (59.13) has ranked at the top position. It is followed by Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in that order. Haryana (63.65) topped the chart among the landlocked states. It is followed by Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. 

Among the UTs and Small States, Goa (51.58) has been ranked the best performer with the first rank. Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar and Ladakh are ranked second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively. The index can be used by the regions 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. The index is also aimed at promoting competition among all the states so as to bring about favourable policies, ease the regulatory framework, create necessary infrastructure and assist in identifying strategic recommendations for improving export competitiveness. 

The report has revealed though 680 districts across the country engage in exports, the top 100 districts contribute almost 87 per cent of the total exports from India. The most exporting district, Jamnagar in Gujarat, has been declared to top the chart. It is followed by Surat, Mumbai Suburban, Mumbai, Pune, Bharuch, Kanchipuram, Ahmedabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Bengaluru Urban. 

While Jamnagar is the hub of petroleum sector, Surat is the main exporting centre for gems and jewelry. If these two sectors are separated, Pune becomes the top exporter city. To promote exports, 674 districts have formed a District Export Promotion Committee while 557 have formulated a District Export Action Plan. Gujarat has the highest number of exporting districts. While there are top 25 exporter districts in the country, eight of them are from Gujarat, the report said. 

The ranking is based on the four pillars – 

Firstly, the policy pillar evaluates the performance of the states and UTs’ based on its adoption of export-related policy ecosystem at a state and district level as well as the institutional framework surrounding the ecosystem. 

Secondly, the business ecosystem assesses the prevailing business environment in a state or UT, along with the extent of business-supportive infrastructure and a state’s or UTs’ transport connectivity. 

The third pillar, the export ecosystem, focuses on the export-related infrastructure in a state along with the trade support provided to the exporters, and the prevalence of Research and Development in the state to foster innovation. 

Finally, the export performance is an output-based indicator which gauges the growth of a state’s export over the previous year and analyses its export concentration and footprint on the global markets. 

These pillars are further based on ten sub-pillars – Export Promotion Policy; Institutional Framework; Business Environment; Infrastructure; Transport Connectivity; Export Infrastructure; Trade Support; R&D Infrastructure; Export Diversification; and Growth Orientation. 

The efforts of state governments in improving the policy ecosystem have led many states to create export promotion policies and district-level export action plans. It is noted in the report that there is a scope for improvement in business and export ecosystem in many states which is necessary to improve their export performance. 

The report encourages state governments to create solutions to their context-specific challenges to exports. The states can also exploit their innate diversity by promoting products unique to them and helping them reach the global market. Consistent investment in research and development can foster innovation, which in turn can facilitate higher efficiency in exports, and diversification of India’s export basket. Further efforts in identification of new markets and exporting diversified products according to state’s competitive advantage can help India in improving its global footprint. 

The report aims to facilitate competitive federalism in the country which creates a spirit of healthy competition among the states and encourage peer-learning among the states. It further acknowledges that for a comprehensive evaluation of the export preparedness of states important indicators, such as source of origin of export data, and service exports need to be assessed as they are currently not being captured at the sub-national level. Using this index, states can improve on their weak areas and positively impact their export performance. 

In an earlier post, Maharashtra Monitor had highlighted how various states have been competing on the industry and export firms. Similarly, how industrial activity has been confined to only a few pockets of the state while there is hardly any development in the chronically backward regions. No attention has been paid to this situation. Resultantly, though an undisputed leader once upon a time, Maharashtra has to now struggle to maintain its primacy. The  EPI report has only endorsed this observation. One can hope that the picture changes in favour of Maharashtra in the days to come.