Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons former India cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin in a money laundering case.
The probe is related to alleged financial irregularities in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) in which the ED had conducted searches
About Enforcement Directorate (ED):
It is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigation of offences of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws.
It functions under the Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance.
As a premier financial investigation agency of the Government of India, the Enforcement Directorate functions in strict compliance with the Constitution and Laws of India.
It is headquartered at New Delhi.
There are five regional offices at Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Delhi headed by Special Directors of Enforcement.
It has 10 Zonal offices each of which is headed by a Deputy Director and 11 sub Zonal Offices each of which is headed by an Assistant Director.
Recruitment of the officers is done directly and by drawing officers from other investigation agencies.
It comprises officers of IRS (Indian Revenue Services), IPS (Indian Police Services) and IAS (Indian Administrative Services) such as Income Tax officer, Excise officer, Customs officer, and police.
In November 2021, the President of India promulgated two ordinances allowing the Centre to extend the tenures of the directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate from two years to up to five years.
The statutory functions of the Directorate include enforcement of following Acts:
COFEPOSA: Under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA), this Directorate is empowered to sponsor cases of preventive detention with regard to contraventions of FEMA.
Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA): It is a civil law enacted to consolidate and amend the laws relating to facilitate external trade and payments and to promote the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India.
ED has been given the responsibility to conduct investigation into suspected contraventions of foreign exchange laws and regulations, to adjudicate and impose penalties on those adjudged to have contravened the law.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA): Following the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) India enacted PMLA.
The ED has been entrusted with the responsibility of executing the provisions of PMLA by conducting investigation to trace the assets derived from proceeds of crime, to provisionally attach the property and to ensure prosecution of the offenders and confiscation of the property by the Special court.
Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA): Lately, with the increase in the number of cases relating to economic offenders taking shelter in foreign countries, the Government of India introduced the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA) and ED is entrusted with its enforcement.
This law was enacted to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.
Under this law, the ED is mandated to attach the properties of the fugitive economic offenders who have escaped from India warranting arrest and provide for the confiscation of their properties to the Central Government.
International Relations
Topic: International Treaties
2. Chagos Islands
Why in the news?
U.K. to return Chagos Islands to Mauritius in historic agreement.
The U.K. and Mauritius have reached a historic political agreement to secure the strategically important U.K.-U.S. military base on Diego Garcia and towards restoring Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago. A treaty is now being worked out to firm up the agreement, the U.K. announced.
About Chagos Islands:
It is an island group located in the central Indian Ocean and is about 1,600 km. south of the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent.
It is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom that was established on November 8, 1965.
Its key islands include the Diego Garcia atoll, Danger Island, Egmont Islands, Eagle Islands, Nelsons Island, Peros Banhos atoll. (Diego Garcia island, which houses a strategic US military base).
It experiences a tropical marine climate with high temperatures and elevated humidity levels. The island’s climate is heavily moderated by the trade winds which blow over the islands.
Chagos Island Dispute:
It centres around the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which Britain claimed along with Mauritius in 1814.
In 1966, Britain leased Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands, to the United States, which was seeking a military base in the region.
The Chagossians, who are mostly descendants of African slaves brought to the islands in the 18th century, have since been engaged in a prolonged legal battle for the right to return to their homeland.
Mauritius, which gained independence from Britain in 1968, has consistently maintained its claim over the Chagos Islands.
In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed the UK's right to govern the Chagos Islands and called on its government to withdraw from the archipelago.
International Court of Justice (ICJ):
It is also known as the World Court.
It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the UN and began work in April 1946.
The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
Topic: Multilateral Organizations
3. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Why in the news?
New NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Ukraine in his first official trip since taking office and pledging continued support for Kyiv in its war with Russia.
Mr. Rutte met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv as air raid sirens twice went off in the Ukrainian capital.
About North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO):
It was founded in 1949, with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty or Washington Treaty.
It was founded with the aim of acting as a deterrent to the threat of Soviet expansion in Europe after World War II.
Its headquarters are located in Brussels (Belgium).
It is a political and military alliance of 32 countries from Europe and North America.
It is founded on the principle of collective defense (Article 5 of the Treaty), meaning that if one NATO Ally is attacked, then all NATO Allies are attacked.
So far, Article 5 has been invoked once – in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Its twelve founding members include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
EU members that are not a part of NATO are Austria, Cyprus, Ireland and Malta.
Geography
Topic: Lakes
4. Lake Kivu
Why in the news?
A boat carrying scores of passengers capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo, killing at least 50 people.
The boat, overloaded with passengers, sank while trying to dock just metres away from the port of Kituku. It was going from Minova in South Kivu province to Goma, in North Kivu province.
About Lake Kivu:
It is one of the African Great Lakes.
It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift.
It empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika.
It is one of three lakes in the world, along with Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun, that undergo limnic eruptions (where overturn of deepwater stratified layers releases dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2).
Its bottom also contains methane (CH4), meaning if a limnic eruption occurs, the lives of the two million people living nearby would be in danger.
It is approximately 42 km. long and 50 km. wide.
It covers a total surface area of some 2,700 km2, making it Africa's eighth largest lake.
The lake bed sits upon a rift valley that is slowly being pulled apart, causing volcanic activity in the area.
The world's tenth-largest island in a lake, Idjwi, lies in Lake Kivu.
Topic: Rivers
5. Amazon River
Why in the news?
The Solimoes, one of the two largest tributaries of the Amazon River in Brazil, fell to its lowest level ever on Monday in the worst drought on record in the Amazon region, leaving villages on its banks stranded without food, water and transport.
About Amazon River:
It is the world's largest river by water volume and width and the second-longest river in the world after the Nile.
Its journey begins high in the Andes Mountains and empties into the Atlantic Ocean on the northeastern coast of Brazil.
River basin:
It has the largest drainage area of any river system.
Its watershed spans the countries of Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Bolivia.
Roughly two-thirds of the Amazon’s main stream and by far the largest portion of its basin are within Brazil.
The river’s size changes with the seasons. In the dry season, it spans 4 to 5 km in width, but during the wet season, this can swell to 50 km.
Its tributaries include the Rio Negro, the Madeira River, and the Xingu River, among many others.
The Amazon Rainforest, which represents about half of the Earth’s remaining rainforest, also constitutes its single largest reserve of biological resources.
It is sometimes referred to as the "lungs of the Earth" due to its role in regulating the planet's oxygen and carbon cycles.
Solimoes River:
It refers to upper stretches of the Amazon River in Amazonas state, northwestern Brazil.
It flows for about 1,600 km. through a floodplain about 80 km. wide.
It flows from the Brazilian-Peruvian border on the west to its confluence with the Negro River near Manaus.
The junction is known as the “meeting of waters,” where the muddy, brown-coloured Solimões waters meet the black Negro waters to form the Amazon River.
Environment and Ecology
Topic: Biodiversity
6. Red-eared slider turtle
Why in the news?
Customs sleuths at Chennai airport seized nearly 5,000 red-eared slider turtles smuggled from Malaysia and arrested two flyers and a receiver. Based on specific intelligence, the Air Intelligence team intercepted two men who arrived from Kuala Lumpur and found 4,967 small green turtles and 19 pale/yellow turtles.
About Red-eared slider turtle:
It is native to the southeastern USA and Mexico.
It is a semi-aquatic turtle from fresh and brackish water ecosystems.
It spends the majority of its time either in the water foraging or basking on rocks and logs.
It is considered one of the world’s 100 worst invasive non-native species.
Appearance
It is known for its distinct red stripes behind each ear.
It varies in colour from dark green to brown, with yellowish ribbons all over their green bodies and along the edge of their dark olive-green shell.
In the wild, it can live from 20 to 50 years.
It is fed mainly on plants and small animals, such as crickets and fish etc.
Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Invasive species:
These refer to non-native organisms that are introduced into an ecosystem and have the potential to cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health.
These species often outcompete native species and disrupt the natural balance of ecosystems
Topic: Biodiversity
7, Oecophylla ants
Why in the news?
A recent study from the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has found that Oecophylla ants may be pushing montane birds higher up the mountains.
According to the IISc, in mountainous regions, species diversity can vary with elevation due to environmental factors like climatic conditions. However, the study by the CES team, has uncovered a different factor driving bird species diversity at mid-elevations i.e. the presence of ants from the Oecophylla genus.
About Oecophylla ants:
These are also known as weaver ants or green ants.
They live in trees and are known for their unique nest building behaviour where workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larval silk.
Colonies can be extremely large consisting of more than a hundred nests spanning numerous trees and containing more than half a million workers.
Like many other ant species, weaver ants prey on small insects and supplement their diet with carbohydrate-rich honeydew excreted by scale insects.
The ant workers exhibit a clear bimodal size distribution, with almost no overlap between the size of the minor and major workers.
Major workers forage, defend, maintain, and expand the colony whereas minor workers tend to stay within the nests where they care for the brood and 'milk' scale insects in or close to the nests.
They vary in color from reddish to yellowish brown depending on the species.
They are highly territorial and workers aggressively defend their territories against intruders.
Because they prey on insects harmful to their host trees, they are sometimes used by indigenous farmers, particularly in southeast Asia, as natural biocontrol agents against agricultural pests.
Although they lack a functional sting, they can inflict painful bites and often spray formic acid directly at the bite wound resulting in intense discomfort.
Economy
Topic: Taxation
8. Input Tax Credit (ITC)
Why in the news?
The Supreme Court declared that real estate companies can claim Input Tax Credits (ITC) under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, on costs of construction for commercial structures intended for renting or leasing purposes.
About Input Tax Credits (ITC):
It is a mechanism to avoid cascading of taxes. Cascading of taxes, in simple language, is ‘tax on tax’.
It refers to the tax already paid by a person at time of purchase of goods or services and which is available as deduction from tax payable .
Input tax credit in relation to GST to a registered person means, the CGST, SGST/UTGST or IGST charged on any supply of goods or services or both made to him.
It includes IGST charged on imports & tax payable under reverse charge mechanism.
When one buys a product/service from a registered dealer we pay taxes on the purchase. On selling, we collect the tax. We adjust the taxes paid at the time of purchase with the amount of output tax (tax on sales) and balance liability of tax (tax on sales minus tax on purchase) has to be paid to the government. This mechanism is called utilization of input tax credit.
If the tax paid on inputs is higher than the tax on the output, the excess can be claimed as a refund.
Exceptions:
A business under composition scheme cannot avail of input tax credit.
ITC cannot be claimed for personal use or for goods that are exempt.
Art and Culture
Topic: Languages
9. Classical Language Status
Why in the news?
The Union Cabinet approved classical language status to Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Pali, and Prakrit.
India has had six classical languages till now. Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit, and Odia. Tamil was the first language to be given classical status in 2004 followed by Sanskrit in 2005.
About Classical Language Status:
The recognition of a classical language is based on criteria established by a Linguistic Experts Committee.
According to the committee, the following revised benchmarks must be met for a language to be considered "classical":
High antiquity of (its) is early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500- 2000 years.
A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a heritage by generations of speakers.
Knowledge texts, especially prose texts in addition to poetry, epigraphical and inscriptional evidence.
The Classical Languages and literature could be distinct from its current form or could be discontinuous with later forms of its offshoots.
Other Recognised Classical Languages are: Tamil ( 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Telugu( 2008), Kannada (2008), Malayalam( 2013) and Odia (2014).
Benefits of Classical Language Status: Once a language is designated as classical, the Ministry of Education provides various benefits to promote it, including:
Two major international awards annually for scholars of eminence in the language.
Establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Studies in the Classical Language.
Requesting the University Grants Commission (UGC) to create Professional Chairs in Central Universities dedicated to the classical language.
Government Schemes
Topic: Education
10. Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
Why in the news?
While Union and Tamil Nadu governments continue to tussle over the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, funds for the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) are being held back from the State.
More than 20,000 personnel under the scheme in the State are yet to receive their salaries.
About Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA):
It is an integrated scheme for school education extending from pre-school to class XII to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education.
It subsumes the three Schemes of:
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)
Teacher Education (TE)
It treats school education holistically as a continuum from Preschool to Class 12.
The main emphasis of the Scheme is on improving the quality of school education by focussing on the two T’s – Teacher and Technology.
Its vision is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education from pre school to senior secondary stage in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for Education.
SDG-4.1: Aims to ensure that all boys and girls complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
SDG 4.5: Aims to eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education.
It mainly aims to support States in the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
It is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
The fund sharing pattern for the scheme between Centre and States is at present in the ratio of 90:10 for the North-Eastern States and the Himalayan States and 60:40 for all other States and Union Territories with Legislature.
It is 100% centrally sponsored for Union Territories without Legislature.
It also proposes to give flexibility to the States and UTs to plan and prioritize their interventions within the scheme norms and the overall resource envelope available to them.
Online Classes
.jpg)