TN calls topping export preparedness index proof of its pro-biz climate

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday said that the state securing top spot in the Export Preparedness Index 2022 released by Niti Aayog is proof of the state’s ease of doing business climate. This comes after the state becoming the top electronic goods exporting state in India surpassing Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka in 2022-23.

“Tamil Nadu securing the No. 1 place in Export Preparedness Index, 2022, reinforces the state’s top rank in ease of doing business. Tamil Nadu has long been an export leader in sectors like automotive, leather and textiles, and we recently became the No. 1 exporter of electronic goods,” said TRB Rajaa, Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce, Tamil Nadu. “This is the result of chief minister MK Stalin’s sustained efforts toward creating a robust environment for industries in the state. This will strengthen our resolve to become a $ 1 trillion economy by 2030,” he added.  

Among the districts, Kanchipuram is the highest exporting district in Tamil Nadu and the state’s top exporting districts contribute to 11.88 per cent of the total exports in India. Gujarat had topped the chart in the last two rankings. Among the states, Tamil Nadu topped with a score of 80.89, followed by 78.20 for Maharashtra, 76.36 for Karnataka and 73.22 for Gujarat, among the coastal states and overall. The report presents a comprehensive analysis of India’s export performance in FY22, along with its sector-specific and district-level merchandise export trends. The EPI 2022 Report evaluates the performance of the states across four pillars – policy, business ecosystem, export ecosystem, and export performance. The index uses 56 indicators which holistically capture the export preparedness of States and UTs in terms of exports at both the state and district-level.

Tamil Nadu’s electronics exports posted almost a two-fold increase in electronic exports from $1.86 billion in 2021-22 to $5.37 billion in 2022-23. Interestingly, the state was number three exporter of electronic goods after Karnataka ($3.87 billion), Uttar Pradesh (3.77 billion) and Maharashtra (42.08 billion) in 2021-22. The state-wise data of exports are available only from 2017-18. In India’s Ease of Doing Business rankings last year, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab and Tamil Nadu were the top achievers.

In the Export Preparedness Index 2022, the other states among the top ten include Haryana with a score of 63.65, Telangana with 61.36, Uttar Pradesh with 61.23, Andhra Pradesh with 59.27, Uttarakhand with 59.13 and Punjab with 58.95. The report observed that most ‘Coastal States’ have performed well, with the states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat being the top-performers in the Export Preparedness Index across the country, in all categories of states.