NITI Aayog releases the third edition of the ‘Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2022’ for States or UTs (GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- NITI Aayog released the third edition of the report titled ‘Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2022’ for States/UTs of India.
Top rankers:
- Tamil Nadu is followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Kerala in that order in the ranking of coastal states.
- Among hilly/Himalayan states, Uttarakhand has ranked at the top position. It is followed by Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in that order.
- Haryana topped the chart among the landlocked regions. It was followed by Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
- In the category of union territories/small states, Goa was ranked first. Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar and Ladakh were ranked second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
About EPI 2022 report:
- The EPI 2022 report seeks to empower State governments with region-specific insights to assist decision-making, identify strengths, address weaknesses, and foster comprehensive growth across States and UTs of India.
- 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.
The overview of the four pillars in the index is –
- Policy Pillar: evaluates states and UTs’ performance based on its adoption of export-related policy ecosystem at a state and district level as well as the institutional framework surrounding the ecosystem.
- Business Ecosystem: assesses the prevailing business environment in a state/UT, along with the extent of business-supportive infrastructure, and a state/UTs’ transport connectivity.
- Export Ecosystem: focuses on the export-related infrastructure in a state along with the trade support provided to the exporters, and the prevalence of Research and Development in the state to foster innovation.
- Export Performance: is an output-based indicator which gauges the growth of a state’s export over the previous year and analyses its export concentration and footprint on the global markets.
Ten sub-pillars:
- These pillars are further based on ten sub-pillars – Export Promotion Policy; Institutional Framework; Business Environment; Infrastructure; Transport Connectivity; Export Infrastructure; Trade Support; R&D Infrastructure; Export Diversification; and Growth Orientation.
Way Forward:
- The report encourages state governments to create solutions to their context-specific challenges to exports.
- The states can also exploit their innate diversity by promoting products unique to them and helping them reach the global market.
MP govt, UNFPA launch chatbot for adolescents on sexual health issues
(GS Paper 2, Social Justice)
Why in news?
- The Madhya Pradesh government and the United Nations Population Fund recently launched'Just Ask/Khulke Poochho' chatbot.
- It is an Artificial Intelligence-enabled chatbot to address the critical need for accurate and accessible information on social issues and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) among adolescents and young adults.
Key features:
- The 'Just Ask digital engagement platform will help users with questions related to growing up, bodily changes, menstruation, reproductive health, pregnancy and family planning, gender identity, sexual orientation and other SRHR topics.
- It engages users in interactive conversations and provides them with accurate and reliable information within minutes and free of cost. The user experience is designed to be safe, personalized, multi-lingual and empathetic.
- It features two aspiring role models, Dhruv and Drishti, who communicate information in a simple and relatable manner.
- The content is supported by engaging infographics that enhance comprehension and enable users to follow instructions easily.
- It links adolescents and young people to Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs), government health facilities and helplines.
Way Forward:
- Using the most popular mode of communication, it ensures that health and well-being is literally at the fingertips of young people," the UNFPA representative said.
