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Dear Friends,
This post is a part of our current affairs series for the UPSC IAS Prelims 2022. In this series, we are covering important current affairs for UPSC Prelims 2022. This post covers all the current affairs linked to important Organizations in news from September, October 2021 and April 2022 months.
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Organizations in news
Enforcement Directorate(ED)
News
The Enforcement Directorate(ED) has been in the news for summoning people for possible money laundering cases.
About Enforcement Directorate(ED)
It is a specialized financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
Headquarters: New Delhi
Origin- On 1 May 1956, an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed, in the Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.
In the year 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’.
Mandate– It has been given the task of enforcing the provisions of two special fiscal laws
- Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).
- The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
Powers of ED under PMLA Act
– The ED carries out search (property) and seizure (money/documents) after it has decided that the money has been laundered. On the basis of that, the authorities will decide if the arrest is needed or not.
– ED can also directly carry out search and seizure without calling the person for questioning. It is not necessary to summon the person first and then start with the search and seizure.
– If the person is arrested, the ED gets 60 days to file the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) as the punishment under PMLA doesn’t go beyond seven years.
– If no one is arrested and only the property is attached, then the prosecution complaint along with the attachment order is to be submitted before the adjudicating authority within 60 days.
Retrospective investigation of cases
If an ill-gotten property is acquired before the year 2005 (when the PMLA law was brought in) and disposed off, then there is no case under PMLA.
But if proceeds of the crime were possessed before 2005, kept in cold storage and used after 2005 by buying properties, the colour of the money is still black then the person is liable to be prosecuted under PMLA.
Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister(EAC-PM)
What is the News?
The Government of India has reconstituted the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) under the leadership of Dr Bibek Debroy for a period of two years after its term came to an end in September 2021.
About the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister(EAC-PM)
EAC-PM is a non-constitutional, non-permanent and independent body constituted to give economic advice to the Government of India, specifically the Prime Minister.
Aim: To highlight key economic issues facing the country to the government of India from a neutral viewpoint.
Note: For administrative, logistic, planning and budgeting purposes, the NITI Aayog serves as the Nodal Agency for the EAC-PM.
About the Terms of Reference of EAC-PM
To analyze all critical issues, economic or otherwise, referred to by the Prime Minister and advising him thereon.
To address issues of macroeconomic importance and present views thereon. This could be either suo-moto or on a reference from the Prime Minister or anyone else.
Composition: The EAC-PM is chaired by a Chairperson and consists of eminent economists as members.
Reports by EAC-PM: It publishes 2 major reports: 1. Economic Outlook: It is an annual publication, 2. Review of the Economy.
Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission(IPC)
IPC is an Autonomous Institution of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Functions of IPC
- To set standards of drugs in the country.
- To update regularly the standards of drugs commonly required for the treatment of diseases prevailing in this region.
- To publish official documents for improving the Quality of Medicines by way of adding new and updating existing monographs in the form of Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).
- To further promote rational use of generic medicines by publishing the National Formulary of India.
- To prescribe standards for identity, purity and strength of drugs essentially required from the health care perspective of human beings and animals.
