Maharashtra overtakes Tamil Nadu in NITI's 2024 export preparedness index
New Delhi, Jan 14, 2026
Maharashtra has emerged as the most prepared large state in NITI Aayog's Export Preparedness Index 2024, overtaking Tamil Nadu as several other states gain ground
While Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh gained ground, Karnataka and Haryana slipped out of the top five, the central government think tank said in its report released on Wednesday.
In the latest index, Gujarat climbed to the third place from fourth, while Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh — earlier ranked seventh and eighth — rose to fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
Karnataka slipped three places to 6th, while Haryana fell five spots to 10th position.
NITI has grouped the states into two categories — Large States (17 states) and Small, Northeastern states & Union Territories UTs (19 states).
It has also classified them into Leaders, Challengers, and Aspirers within their categories based on their scores.
The rankings are based on four main pillars — export infrastructure, business ecosystem, policy and governance and export performance.
Maharashtra has scored higher than Tamil Nadu in all pillars except export infrastructure.
Despite Maharashtra’s top rank, its export performance saw a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline of 7.3 per cent in FY24, dropping from ₹6.1 trillion in FY23 to ₹5.6 trillion. This was led by a decline in the gems & jewellery sector, the report said.
Talking about Karnataka, NITI Aayog flagged high operational costs, including labour wages, real estate, and energy, particularly in cities like Bengaluru as significant challenges to Karnataka’s export competitiveness.
“These costs strain small and medium enterprises (SMEs), reduce price competitiveness in global markets, and deter new investments compared to lower-cost regions,” the report said.
Additionally, Karnataka’s exports are heavily concentrated in a few districts such as Bengaluru, Mysuru and Tumakuru, leading to uneven regional development and limiting growth elsewhere.
“This concentration increases vulnerability to localised disruptions and underuses the state’s broader resources and workforce, making it vital to expand export activities beyond these hubs for more balanced and sustainable growth,” the NITI Aayog said in its report.
The index offers a comprehensive assessment of states and UTs across a range of export-related parameters to map strengths and gaps, using an evolving methodological framework.
For the latest (fourth) edition of the report, the think tank used 70 parameters, including 50 vital metrics on logistics, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and trade diversification as well as 20 desirable ones.
“Significant enhancements have been made on the EPI 2024 framework vis-à-vis earlier framework (EPI 2022) with inclusion of new dimensions such as macroeconomy, cost competitiveness, human capital, financial access, and MSME ecosystem and refinement of existing indicators to enhance precision and relevance,” the report added.
Underscoring the importance of the classification, NITI Aayog chief executive officer (CEO) B V R Subrahmanyam said: “Given that different states have different endowments, some states suffer peculiar disabilities. Particularly, small states, hilly states and Northeastern states and Union Territories. They are not easily comparable.”
In the small states’ category, nine emerged leaders, including Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
Calling exports the fourth driver of the economy, Subrahmanyam said India should aim to build a $8-10 trillion export economy by 2047. “The world is passing through a very turbulent phase. Turbulent times give you opportunities. New and great opportunities are here,” he added.
[The Business Standard]
