The North News
Chandigarh, January 17
Punjab has been recognised as a “Leader State” in the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024 released by NITI Aayog, highlighting the state’s growing strength in exports despite being landlocked. The announcement was made by Punjab’s Industries and Commerce Minister Sanjeev Arora, who said the ranking reflected sustained policy reforms, improved infrastructure and a stronger export ecosystem.
The Export Preparedness Index is a data-driven framework developed by NITI Aayog to assess how prepared Indian states and union territories are to compete in global trade. It evaluates performance across four pillars — policy framework, business environment, export ecosystem and export performance — using more than 70 indicators, including logistics, transport connectivity, research capacity and institutional support.
According to the EPI 2024 report, Punjab secured second place among landlocked states and was placed in the top “Leader State” category. This, officials said, was notable as most of the highest-ranked states are coastal regions with direct access to seaports.
The report was released by NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer B V R Subrahmanyam and member Arvind Virmani, who praised Punjab’s progress, citing improved policy support, infrastructure development and export-oriented governance.
Arora said Punjab’s rise demonstrated its ability to overcome logistical constraints through focused interventions, better internal connectivity and sustained infrastructure upgrades. He added that the index placed renewed emphasis on policy implementation and outcome-based performance, offering a realistic picture of a state’s export readiness. The minister attributed Punjab’s performance to sector-specific industrial policies, ease-of-doing-business reforms, support for MSMEs and institutional strengthening. He also pointed to other national recognitions, including a top achiever ranking in Ease of Doing Business 2024 and a gold award at the ODOP Awards.
The Punjab government, he said, would continue to deepen reforms and strengthen export infrastructure to ensure the state plays a key role in India’s global trade ambitions.
