Advisor, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog)
The idea of developing an index to measure the Export Preparedness of Indian States germinated early this year in NITI Aayog. Keeping in line with the spirit of ‘Competitive Federalism’; the Export Preparedness Index evaluates the various factors that play a crucial role in determining the export performance across all the States and Union Territories of India. Our Hon’ble Prime Minister has also stressed on the fact that there is a huge potential for Indian exports and this can be exploited at the disaggregated levels by converting each district into an exporting hub.
In the wake of a global pandemic such as COVID 19, the Export Preparedness Index becomes a crucial document to guide our fellow policymakers to make the most of the dynamic nature of global manufacturing and trade. India has already taken major steps by initiating a Continuity Plan that would kick-start the growth of Indian exports. The plan also aims to increase the scale of Indian manufacturing and trade, which would further expand the Indian products’ footprint at a global level.
To facilitate such a detailed potential expansion of Indian exports, the Export Preparedness Index can provide major insights pertaining to state-level performance and growth. Based on its coherent structure which includes four pillars, eleven sub-pillars and multiple indicators, the Index can pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses across all the States & Union Territories. This would enable all tiers of stakeholders to take prompt action in improving the existing export ecosystem at a sub-national level.
The development of the Export Preparedness Index was an inclusive process. It contained extensive engagement with the States in the process of data collection. The timely completion of the first-ever Export Preparedness Index could not have been possible without the support and cooperation of all the partners.
We are grateful to Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog, who took up this crucial initiative and led it into fruition. And we thank everyone who provided their insights to help create the right structure for evaluating the Export Preparedness across the sub-national level.
