Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
Context:
Recently, The Supreme Court upheld the core amendments made to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which gives the government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) virtually unbridled powers of summons, arrest, and raids, and makes bail nearly impossible while shifting the burden of proof of innocence on to the accused rather than the prosecution.
Relevance:
GS-III: Internal Security Challenges (Money Laundering), GS II: Governance
Dimensions of the Article:
- Details
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002
- Enforcement Directorate
- Functions of Enforcement Directorate
Details:
- The top court called the PMLA a law against the “scourge of money laundering” and not a hatchet wielded against rival politicians and dissenters.
- “Money laundering is an offence against the sovereignty and integrity of the country,” the court noted. “It is no less a heinous offence than the offence of terrorism,”
- The verdict came on an extensive challenge raised against the amendments introduced to the 2002 Act by way of Finance Acts.
- The three-judge Bench said the method of introduction of the amendments through Money Bills would be separately examined by a larger Bench of the top court.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002
- According to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002, Money laundering is concealing or disguising the identity of illegally obtained proceeds so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources.
- It is frequently a component of other, much more serious, crimes such as drug trafficking, robbery or extortion.
- Money laundering is punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 7 years and Fine under the PMLA.
- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is responsible for investigating offences under the PMLA.
- The Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) is the national agency that receives, processes, analyses and disseminates information related to suspect financial transactions.
- After hearing the application, a special court (designated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA, 2002) may declare an individual as a fugitive economic offender and also confiscate properties which are proceeds of crime, Benami properties and any other property, in India or abroad.
- The authorities under the PMLA, 2002 will exercise powers given to them under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
- These powers will be similar to those of a civil court, including the search of persons in possession of records or proceeds of crime, the search of premises on the belief that a person is an FEO and seizure of documents.
Enforcement Directorate
- The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
- It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government Of India.
- It is composed of officers from the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Corporate Law Service, Indian Police Service and the Indian Administrative Service.
- The origin of this Directorate goes back to 1 May 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed, in 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’.
Functions of Enforcement Directorate
- The prime objective of the Enforcement Directorate is the enforcement of two key Acts of the Government of India namely, the
- Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA)
- the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA).
- The ED’s (Enforcement Directorate) official website enlists its other objectives which are primarily linked to checking money laundering in India.
- In fact this is an investigation agency so providing the complete details on public domain is against the rules of GOI.
- ED; investigates suspected violations of the provisions of the FEMA.
- Suspected violations includes; non-realization of export proceeds, “hawala transactions”, purchase of assets abroad, possession of foreign currency in huge amount, non-repatriation of foreign exchange, foreign exchange violations and other forms of violations under FEMA.
- ED collects, develops and disseminates intelligence information related to violations of FEMA, 1999. The ED receives the intelligence inputs from Central and State Intelligence agencies, complaints etc.
- ED has the power to attach the asset of the culprits found guilty of violation of FEMA.
- “Attachment of the assets” means prohibition of transfer, conversion, disposition or movement of property by an order issued under Chapter III of the Money Laundering Act [Section 2(1) (d)].
- To undertake, search, seizure, arrest, prosecution action and survey etc. against offender of PMLA offence.
- To provide and seek mutual legal assistance to/from respective states in respect of attachment/confiscation of proceeds of crime and handed over the transfer of accused persons under Money Laundering Act.
- To settle cases of violations of the erstwhile FERA, 1973 and FEMA, 1999 and to decide penalties imposed on conclusion of settlement proceedings.
Forest Rights Act 2006
Context:
While many States are nowhere near completing implementation of the historic Act, Odisha is aiming for a full rollout by 2024.
Relevance:
GS III- Environment and Ecology
Dimensions of the Article:
- About Forest Rights Act, 2006
- Importance of Forest Rights Act, 2006:
- Challenges
About Forest Rights Act, 2006
- Schedule Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers Act or Recognition of Forest Rights Act came into force in 2006.
- The Nodal Ministry for the Act is Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
- It has been enacted to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation of forest land in forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers, who have been residing in such forests for generations, but whose rights could not be recorded.
- This Act not only recognizes the rights to hold and live in the forest land under the individual or common occupation for habitation or for self-cultivation for livelihood, but also grants several other rights to ensure their control over forest resources.
- The Act also provides for diversion of forest land for public utility facilities managed by the Government, such as schools, dispensaries, fair price shops, electricity and telecommunication lines, water tanks, etc. with the recommendation of Gram Sabhas.
- Rights under the Forest Right Act 2006:
- Title Rights- ownership of land being framed by Gram Sabha.
- Forest management rights– to protect forests and wildlife.
- Use rights- for minor forest produce, grazing, etc.
- Rehabilitation– in case of illegal eviction or forced displacement.
- Development Rights– to have basic amenities such as health, education, etc.
Importance of Forest Rights Act, 2006:
- It broadens the scope of the Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution, which safeguard the claims of indigenous communities over tracts of land or forests they inhabit.
- One of the causes of the Naxal movement, which had an impact on states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Jharkhand, was the alienation of tribes.
- By recognising community rights to forest resources, it has the potential to democratise forest governance.
- The act will guarantee that people have the opportunity to manage their forests independently, which will limit official exploitation of forest resources, enhance forest governance, and improve management of tribal rights.
Challenges
- Governments find it expedient to undermine FRA or give up on it altogether in favour of monetary gains because tribals do not constitute a significant vote bank in the majority of states.
- Unawareness at the Lower level of forest officials who are supposed to help process forest rights claims is high and majority of the aggrieved population too remains in the dark regarding their rights.
- The FRA was intended as a welfare programme for tribal members, but the forest bureaucracy misinterpreted it as a tool to legalise expansion.
- Some environmentalist groups express worry that the FRA favours individual rights more than community rights, leaving less room for the latter.
- Community Rights effectively gives the local people the control over forest resources which remains a significant portion of forest revenue making states wary of vesting forest rights to Gram Sabha.
- The forest bureaucracy worries that it will lose the significant influence it already has over land and people, while corporations worry that they would lose their easy access to priceless natural resources.
- Gram Sabha, which occasionally lacks technical know-how and is educationally incompetent, creates rough maps of community and individual claims.
Flag Code of India
Context:
Recently, The Indian government has declared that as long as the national flag is flown in the open and by a member of the public, it may now fly all night long.
- The tricolour could previously only be flown just between sunrise and dusk.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs revised the Flag Code of India 2002 to permit the flying of the national flag even at night as the government began a Har Ghar Tiranga campaign.
Relevance:
GS II: Polity and Governance
Dimensions of the Article:
- Historical Background
- Flag Code of India
- Rules governing the display of the Tricolour
- What is the Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign?
Historical Background
- On August 7, 1906, at Parsee Bagan Square, close to Lower Circular Road, in Calcutta, it is reported that the first national flag, which had three horizontal stripes of red, yellow, and green, was raised (now Kolkata).
- In 1921, freedom fighter Pingali Venkayya met Mahatma Gandhi and suggested the flag’s basic layout, which had two bands of red and green.
- The Tricolor was finally designated as the national flag in 1931 during a Congress Committee meeting in Karachi after going through a number of modifications.
- In its current form, the Indian flag was approved by the Constituent Assembly on July 22, 1947.
Flag Code of India
- The Flag Code of India, which went into force in 2002, permits the display of the Tricolor without restriction so long as the flag’s honour and dignity are upheld.
- The pre-existing regulations controlling the proper display of the flag were not repealed by the flag code.
- However, it was an attempt to include all of the earlier laws, conventions, and practises.
The Flag Code of 2002 is divided into three parts
- A general description of the tricolour
- Rules on the display of the flag by public and private bodies and educational institutions
- Rules for the display of the flag by governments and government bodies.
Features :
- There will be no restriction on the display of the flag by public and private bodies and educational institutions except to the extent as laid down in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
- The tricolour cannot be used for commercial purposes, and cannot be dipped in salute to any person or thing.
- The flag code mandates that the tricolour should always be distinctly placed and should “occupy the position of honour”.
- The flag should always be hoisted briskly and lowered slowly and ceremoniously.
- The flag should not be used as a festoon, or for any kind of decoration purposes.
- Any tricolour which is damaged should be destroyed in private, “preferably by burning or by any other method consistent with the dignity of the Flag”.
- For official display, only flags that conform to the specifications as laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards and bearing their mark can be used.
- In the event of the death of heads of state, dignitaries or during state funerals, the tricolour can be flown at half-mast during the period of mourning.
- However, if the period of mourning coincides with events of national importance, such as Independence Day, Republic Day, etc., the tricolour should not be flown at half-mast anywhere except over the building in which the body of the deceased is lying.
Rules governing the display of the Tricolour
- The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950:
- It restricts the use of the national flag, the coat-of-arms used by a government department, the official seal of the President or Governor, the pictorial representation of Mahatma Gandhi and the Prime Minister, and the Ashoka Chakra.
- The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971:
- It prohibits the desecration of or insults to the country’s national symbols, including the national flag, the Constitution, the national anthem and the Indian map.
- Section 2 of the Act says, “Whoever in any public place or in any other place within public view burns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or [otherwise shows disrespect to or brings] into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India or any part thereof, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
- Part IV-A of the Constitution:
- The Part IV-A of the Constitution (which consists of only one Article 51-A) specifies the eleven Fundamental Duties.
- According to Article 51A (a), it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem.
What is the Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign?
- ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ is a campaign under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to encourage people to bring the Tiranga home and to hoist it to mark the 75th year of India’s independence.
- Our relationship with the flag has always been more formal and institutional than personal.
- Bringing the flag home as a nation in our 75th year of independence symbolises both our dedication to establishing a better country and our act of personal connection to the Tiranga.
- Invoking a sense of patriotism in people’s hearts and raising awareness of the Indian National Flag are the goals of the programme.
What is Cryptojacking?
Context:
‘Cryptojacking’ attacks on computer systems have gone up by 30% to 66.7 million in the first half of 2022 compared to the first half of last year, according to a report by SonicWall, a US-based cybersecurity firm.
Relevance:
GS III: Science and Technology
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is cryptojacking?
- Why is cryptojacking done?
- Why have cryptojacking incidents gone up?
- Why should this be a concern?
What is cryptojacking?
- Cryptojacking is a cyber attack wherein a computing device is hijacked and controlled by the attacker, and its resources are used to illicitly mine cryptocurrency.
- In most cases, the malicious programme is installed when the user clicks on an unsafe link, or visits an infected website — and unknowingly provides access to their Internet-connected device.
Why is cryptojacking done?
- Coin mining is a legitimate, competitive process used to release new crypto coins into circulation or to verify new transactions.
- It involves solving complex computational problems to generate blocks of verified transactions that get added to the blockchain.
- The reward for the first miner who successfully manages to update the crypto ledger through this route is crypto coins.
- But the race to crack this 64-digit hexadecimal number code needs considerable computing power involving state-of-the-art hardware, and electrical power to keep the systems involved up and running.
- Cryptojackers co-opt devices, servers, and cloud infrastructure, and use their resources for mining. The use of ‘stolen’ or cryptojacked resources slashes the cost involved in mining.
Why have cryptojacking incidents gone up?
- According to the SonicWall’s Cyber Threat Report, the crackdown on ransomware attacks is forcing cybercriminals to look for alternative methods.
- Cryptojacking involves “lower risk”, and promises “potentially higher payday”.
- Unlike ransomware, which announces its presence and relies heavily on communication with victims, cryptojacking can succeed without the victim ever being aware of it.
Why should this be a concern?
- Cryptojacking is hard to detect and the victims of these attacks mostly remain unaware that their systems have been compromised.
- Some telltale signs are the device slowing down, heating up, or the battery getting drained faster than usual.
- Apart from individuals, businesses too are on the target list of cryptojackers.
- According to the report, cryptojacking incidents targeting the retail industry rose by 63% year-to-date, while similar attacks on the financial industry skyrocketed 269%.
- The primary impact of cryptojacking is performance-related, though it can also increase costs for the individuals and businesses affected because coin mining uses high levels of electricity and computing power.
India’s Role in UN Peacekeeping Missions
Context:
Two BSF personnel who were part of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), were among five people killed during a protest in an eastern town near the border with Uganda on Tuesday (July 26).
- A total 175 Indian peacekeepers have so far died while serving with the United Nations. India has lost more peacekeepers than any other UN Member State.
Relevance:
GS III: International Relations
Dimensions of the Article:
- UN Peacekeeping Forces
- India’s contribution to UN Peacekeeping
- Role of women in Indian Peacekeeping
- Medical care as part of India’s Missions
- India’s views on UN Peacekeeping
UN Peacekeeping Forces
- UN Peacekeeping is a joint effort which deploys troops and police from around the world, integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to address a range of mandates set by the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the General Assembly.
- This joint effort between the Department of Peace Operations and the Department of Operational Support helps countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace.
- According to the UN Charter, every Member State is legally obligated to pay their respective share for peacekeeping.
- Since 1948, UN Peacekeepers have undertaken 71 Field Missions.
- There are approximately 81,820 personnel serving on 13 peace operations led by UNDPO, in four continents currently.
- This represents a nine-fold increase since 1999.
- A total of 119 countries have contributed military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping.
- Currently, 72,930 of those serving are troops and military observers, and about 8,890 are police personnel.
India’s contribution to UN Peacekeeping
- India has a long history of service in UN Peacekeeping, having contributed more personnel than any other country.
- To date, more than 2,53,000 Indians have served in 49 of the 71 UN Peacekeeping missions established around the world since 1948.
- Currently, there are around 5,500 troops and police from India who have been deployed to UN Peacekeeping missions, the fifth highest amongst troop-contributing countries.
- India has also provided, and continues to provide, eminent Force Commanders for UN Missions.
- India is the fifth largest troop contributor (TCC) with 5,323 personnel deployed in 8 out of 13 active UN Peacekeeping Missions, of which 166 are police personnel.
- India’s contribution to UN Peacekeeping began with its participation in the UN operation in Korea in the 1950s, where India’s mediatory role in resolving the stalemate over prisoners of war in Korea led to the signing of the armistice that ended the Korean War. India chaired the five-member Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission, while the Indian Custodian Force supervised the process of interviews and repatriation that followed.
- The UN entrusted the Indian armed forces with subsequent peace missions in the Middle East, Cyprus, and the Congo (since 1971, Zaire).
- India also served as Chair of the three international commissions for supervision and control for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos established by the 1954 Geneva Accords on Indochina.
Role of women in Indian Peacekeeping
- India has been sending women personnel on UN Peacekeeping Missions.
- In 2007, India became the first country to deploy an all-women contingent to a UN Peacekeeping Mission.
- The Formed Police Unit in Liberia provided 24-hour guard duty and conducted night patrols in the capital Monrovia, and helped to build the capacity of the Liberian police.
- These women officers not only played a role in restoring security in the West African nation but also contributed to an increase in the number of women in Liberia’s security sector.
Medical care as part of India’s Missions
- In addition to their security role, the members of the Indian Formed Police Unit also organised medical camps for Liberians, many of whom have limited access to health care services.
- Medical care is among the many services Indian Peacekeepers provide to the communities in which they serve on behalf of the Organization. They also perform specialised tasks such as veterinary support and engineering services.
- Indian veterinarians serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), stepped up to help cattle herders who were losing much of their stock to malnutrition and disease in the war-torn nation.
- The Indian contingent in South Sudan has provided vocational training and life-saving medical assistance, as well as carrying out significant road repair work.
- In September 2020, based on an urgent request received from the UN Secretariat, India deployed two medical teams of 15 medical personnel each at Goma (DRC) and Juba (South Sudan).
- The Hospital by India in Goma, operational since January 2005, has 90 Indian nationals including 18 specialists.
