Public Accounts Committee

• The Committee on Public Accounts is the oldest Parliamentary Committee and was first constituted in 1921.  
• Members of the Committee
• The members of the committee are elected by the Parliament every year. 
• The Committee consists of 22 Members, 15 Members are elected by Lok Sabha and 7 Members of the Rajya Sabha are associated with it.  
• The Chairman of the Committee is appointed by the Lok Sabha Speaker amongst its Members.

Function of the Committee

• The Public Accounts Committee examine the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General report to see that :
• The Government of India has spent the money for the purpose which was mentioned in the union budget.
• Whether there was any excess expenditure by the government.
• It also examines the accounts of the Government Corporations and Companies.

Note 

Normally an opposition party member is chosen as the chairman of the PAC.

Currently Congress Party leader  Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary is the chairman.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

The CBI (the premier investigating agency of the Central Government) was set up in 1963 by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

• Now, this department comes under the administrative control of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
• The Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962–1964) recommended the establishment of the CBI.
• Headed by a Director, CBI:
  • provides assistance to the Central Vigilance Commission and Lokpal.
  • coordinates investigations on behalf of Interpol Member countries.
• The CBI has jurisdiction to investigate offences pertaining to 69 Central laws, 18 State Acts and 231 offences in the IPC.
• CBI is one of the 26 Indian Government Organisations which are exempted from the provisions of Section 24 of the Right to Information Act.
• Headquarters: CGO Complex, New Delhi
• Motto: Industry, Impartiality, Integrity
• Director-General: Subodh Kumar Jaiswal

Enforcement Directorate

• The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency (under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance) responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
• On 1st 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’.
• The prime objective of the Enforcement Directorate is the enforcement of two key Acts of the Government of India
  • The Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) and
  • The Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA)

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme

• NREGA Act was passed by the Indian Parliament on 23rd August 2005 but it came into force on February 6, 2006.  On 2nd October 2009 an amendment was made in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, to change the nomenclature of the Act from NREGA to MGNREGA
• The mandate of the MGNREGA is to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Currently the pay rate is about Rs 210 per day.
• It is now operational in all the rural District of India 
• The scheme is under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of  Rural Development.

Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj  Minister: Giriraj Singh.

Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)

• A special purpose vehicle (SPV) is a legal entity created by a parent company but managed as a separate organization. It is designed to isolate the financial risk of certain assets or ventures of the parent company. Companies create SPVs to securitize assets, make it easier to transfer assets (in case of Air India disinvestment), spread the risk of assets or new ventures, or protect assets from risks associated with the parent company.
• Its legal status as a separate company makes its obligations secure even if the parent company goes bankrupt.

Supplementary Grant

• Supplementary grant is the amount needed when the amount authorised by the Parliament through the appropriation act for a particular service for the current financial year is found to be insufficient for that year.
• These grants are presented and passed by the Parliament before the end of the financial year (1st April to 31st March)
• Constitutional Provision: Article 115 pertains to supplementary, additional or excess grants.

Appropriation Act - 

• Through this act, the government gets the power to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India for meeting the expenditure during the financial year.
• As per article 114 of the Constitution, the government can withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund only after receiving approval from Parliament.
• The Appropriation Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha after discussions on Budget proposals and Voting on Demand for Grants.
• The defeat of an Appropriation Bill in a parliamentary vote would lead to the resignation of a government or a general election.
• Both the Finance bill and Appropriation bill are classified as Money bills but while the Finance Bill contains provisions on financing the expenditure of the government, an Appropriation Bill specifies the quantum and purpose for withdrawing money.

Commonwealth of Nations or Commonwealth

• Commonwealth of Nations is an association of countries that were once ruled by Britain. The current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949. 
• The head of the Commonwealth is Britain's, Queen Elizabeth II.
• At present, there are 54 members Including India 

Headquarters:London , England 

Article 21 of the Indian constitution 

Protection of life and personal liberty.—No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

Uttarakhand High court in Lalit Kumar v. Union of India, 2018, observed that access to speedy justice is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967 

It is a preventive detention act aimed at preventing activities that are directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India. It was enacted by the Parliament in 1967.

The act has been amended four times in 1969,2004,2012,2019

Important Points of UAPA Act 1967 

• With the recent 2019 amendment, the act meets commitments made at the Financial Action Task Force (an intergovernmental organization to combat money laundering and terrorism financing).
• As per the 2019 amendment, the government is now allowed to designate an individual as a terrorist without trial. The previous versions of the Bill allowed for only groups to be designated as terrorists.
• The burden of proof of innocence is on the accused.
• Under the UAPA, this pre-chargesheet time is extended to 180 days.
• Police normally have 60 to 90 days to investigate a case and submit a chargesheet failing which the accused may obtain default bail.
• In a ruling passed on 1 February 2021, the Supreme Court of India ruled that bail could be granted to accused if the right to a speedy trial was violated.

National Investigation Agency (NIA)

After the deadly 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, the government decided to setup a specific body to deal with terror-related activities in India, thereby establishing the NIA in 2008.

Key Points regarding NIA-

• At present NIA is functioning as the Central Counter-Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency in India.
• Though as per the constitution of India, law and order is a state subject but NIA has the power to investigate specific cases under concurrent jurisdiction framework across any state of India.
• NIA is prepared to deal with cases involving complex inter-state and international linkages related to terrorist attacks in insurgency or militancy affected areas, areas of left-wing extremism, hinterland terrorist attacks, smuggling of arms and drugs, circulation of fake Indian currency, infiltration from across the borders, hijacking of aircraft and ships and attacks on nuclear installations.
• The 2019 amendment empowers the NIA to probe terror attacks targeting Indians and Indian interests abroad and also offences like human trafficking; manufacture and sale of prohibited arms; and cyber-terrorism.
• Trial of NIA Cases are held at special courts as notified by the central government as per NIA Act.
• Judges are appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the High Court with jurisdiction in that region.
• The Supreme Court of India has also been empowered to transfer the cases from one special court to any other special court within or outside the state, in the interest of justice. Based on the prevailing circumstances in any particular state.
• The NIA Special Courts are empowered with all powers of the court of sessions under code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for trial of any offense.
• Special Court in New Delhi has jurisdiction of all NIA investigation cases abroad in accordance with international treaties and domestic laws of other countries.

About G20

·         G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum.

·         Member Countries - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.

·         Permanent invitees are African Union, ASEAN, FAO, ILO, IMF, Spain, OECD, UN, World Bank, WHO and WTO.

·         Members comprises both industrialized and developing countries and accounts to two-third of world population, 75-80% world trade and 90% of Gross World Product (GWP – Gross National Income of all countries)

·         The G20 Summit is often formally known as the “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy”

·         G20 was founded in 1999 as a response to the severe Asian Economic Crisis of 1997-98, when it was acknowledged that the participation of major emerging market countries was necessary for a discussion on the international financial system. Thus from 1999, G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting started on major economic and monetary policy issues amongst major countries in the global financial system targeting stable and sustainable global economic growth

·         Since 2008 it is upgraded to head of the state level and from 2011 are held annually.

·         They work on addressing major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, trade, energy, counter-terrorism, migration, refugees and sustainable development.

Air Transport Bubble

“Transport Bubbles” or “Air Travel Arrangements” are temporary arrangements between two countries aimed at restarting commercial passenger services when regular international flights are suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are reciprocal in nature, meaning airlines from both countries enjoy similar benefits.

Countries with which India Has Air Bubble agreements

Afghanistan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Bhutan

Canada

Ethiopia

Finland

France

Germany

Iraq

Japan

Kenya

Kuwait

Maldives

Mauritius

Nepal

Netherlands

Nigeria

Oman

Qatar

Russia

Rwanda

Seychelles

Singapore

Sri Lanka

Tanzania

Ukraine

UAE

UK

USA

Uzbekistan

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