HYDERABAD: Telangana tops among all States in the nation in establishing the best business climate, as per the NITI Aayog's second version of Export Preparedness Index (EPI)- 2021 delivered on Friday. Telangana is likewise among the best five States in adding to the nation's products. “The top six States - Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana contribute 75 per cent of country’s overall exports,” NITI Aayog said. 

A vigorous business climate draws interest in any area. In this classification, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat over-performed and contributed altogether, the report said.  “Telangana, a landlocked State, has shown the best performance with 100 scores, leaving Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan behind,” the report said.  

“This is primarily due to its innovation index performance and lower power cost. The capital city of Telangana, Hyderabad, is a hub for Information Technology (IT) and the pharmaceutical industry. This is also reflected in its top 10 export basket commodities. Moreover, Hyderabad is emerging as a hotspot IT and allied sector. The State’s efforts at improving the business environment are commendable. Still, there is definitely scope for improvement in the State’s performance in future,” the NITI Aayog report said. 

Telangana positions fifth among landlocked States in trade readiness. Among landlocked States, Haryana (53.20), Uttar Pradesh (51.09), Madhya Pradesh (51.03), Punjab (50.99) and Telangana (47.92) got initial five rankings separately. By and large positioning in trade readiness, Telangana got tenth position with 47.92 score.

Be that as it may, NITI Aayog recommended TS to further develop the product framework. “Telangana and Jharkhand need to fill gaps in their infrastructure facilities to improve the overall export ecosystem,” the report said.