Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP)

Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, as part of the ‘National Logistics Policy (NLP)’ on September 17, 2022.

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Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP)- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges
- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) in News

Recently launched Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) (as part of the National Logistics Policy) received tremendous response as 13 organisations sign Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to access data on ULIP.
National Logistics Policy (NLP) aims to bring ease of doing business in the logistics sector by simplifying the logistics processes, improving its efficiency, bringing in transparency and visibility, and reducing logistics cost & time.

Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP)

About: Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, as part of the ‘National Logistics Policy (NLP)’ on September 17, 2022.
Mandate: ULIP aims to enable the industry players for creating a market for revenue generation as well as abolition of monopoly and un-levelled advantage.
Significance: The ULIP platform will enable the industry players to get secure access to the information related to logistics and resources available with various Ministries.
- At present 30 systems from seven ministries are integrated through more than 100 APIs covering more than 1600 data fields for usage by the stakeholders.

Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) Working

ULIP has a dedicated portal that makes the process of data request simpler, faster, and transparent.
ULIP Portal: The portal can be accessed through “https://goulip.in/”.
- A dedicated support team is working round the clock to provide support to the industry players for registration on the portal.
- After the registration, users need to submit their use-cases, which will then be reviewed based on the proposed usage of the requested data.
- After the successful review, users requesting for data will have to sign a ‘Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)’.
With signing of the NDAs, industry players can develop APIs for integration with ULIP.
After the system security check and thorough testing of the integration, the users can fetch authentic data through ULIP from various government sources.

Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) Benefits

ULIP will give direct and indirect benefits to all logistics stakeholders like-
- Verification of drivers and vehicles details in a single click,
- Tracking & tracing of consignment,
- Route Optimization Planning,
- Timely update on the destination of the consignment,
- Reduce paper works,
- Empty carrier & container visibility,
- Inventory management etc.
By reducing regulatory, documentary and other delays, ULIP will enable structured planning by helping in decision making on optimum use of modes of logistics thereby saving cost and time.

National Logistics Policy (NLP)

Background: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned the need of a comprehensive National Logistics Policy (NLP) in her Union Budget 2020-21 Speech.
Need: The need for a national logistics policy was felt since the logistics cost in India is high as compared to other developed economies.
- It is imperative to reduce the logistics cost in India for improving the competitiveness of Indian goods both in domestic as well as export markets.
- Reduced logistics cost improves efficiency cutting across various sectors of the economy, encouraging value addition and enterprise.
About: National Logistics Policy is a comprehensive effort to address issues of high cost and inefficiency by laying down an overarching interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral and multi-jurisdictional framework for the development of the entire logistics ecosystem,
Key Objectives: National Logistics Policy 2022 aims to ensure seamless movement of goods and services across the country and cut elevated logistics costs, often considered the biggest structural bottleneck for both external and internal trade in India.
- National Logistics Policy 2022 aims to trim the country’s logistics costs from as much as 13-14 per cent of its GDP to a single digit over the next few years.
Parent Ministry: The National Logistics Policy formulated by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.