Prelims – 23rd Nov 23

Enforcement Directorate (ED)

The ED was established in the year 1956 as an ‘Enforcement Unit’ under the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.
Later, in 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’.
Presently, it is under the administrative control of the Department of Revenue (Ministry of Finance) for operational purposes.
ED is responsible for enforcement of the Foreign Exchange Management Act1999 (FEMA), and certain provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA).
The ED agency is essential to upholding law and order in India’s financial system and safeguarding the rights of the populace.

Powers of ED

The PMLA gives the ED the authority to detain those who are accused of committing economic crimes.
The ED has the authority to conduct searches and seizures of assets and real estate that have been obtained unlawfully.
Individuals and organisations whose bank accounts are suspected of being used for money laundering or other economic crimes may have their accounts frozen by the ED.
Properties and assets that were acquired illegally may be seized by the ED.

What is an FIR?

The term first information report (FIR) is not defined in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1973 or in any other law.
In police regulations or rules, information recorded under Section 154 of CrPC is known as FIR.
Section 154 states that every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing.
- A copy of the information (as recorded) shall be given (free of cost) to the informant.
In essence, 3 important elements of an FIR:
- the information must relate to the commission of a cognizable offence,
- it should be given in writing or orally to the head of the police station and
- it must be written down and signed by the informant, and its key points should be recorded in a daily diary.

What is a Zero FIR?

A zero FIR can be filed in any Police Station by the victim, irrespective of their residence or the place of occurrence of crime.
A police station that receives a complaint regarding an alleged offence committed in the jurisdiction of another police station, registers an FIR and then transfers it to the relevant police station for further investigation.
- No regular FIR number is given and after receiving the Zero FIR, the revenant police station registers a fresh FIR and starts the investigation.
It came up after the recommendation in the report of the Justice Verma Committee set up after the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case to suggest amendments to the Criminal Law.
The objective of a Zero FIR is to ensure the victim doesn’t have to run from pillar to post to get a police complaint registered.
The provision is meant to provide speedy redressal to the victim so that timely action can be taken after the filing of the FIR.

It was launched on 25 June, 2015, with the objective to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment.
100 cities have been selected to be developed as Smart Cities (through a two-stage competition) in various rounds from 2016 to 2018, with each getting five years from their selection to complete the projects.
It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
- The Central Government will give financial support to the extent of Rs. 48,000 crores over 5 years i.e., on an average 100 crore per city per year.
- An equal amount on a matching basis is to be provided by the State/ULB.
The six fundamental principles on which the concept of Smart Cities is based are:

Smart Cities Mission