The

Analyst
Handout Directorate of Enforcement - Assessment
21st January,2024

Context: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren was quizzed by ED for over 8 hours in tribal land
scam case.

About : Suggestions
● Money laundering and foreign ● Strengthening Institutional
exchange laws, premier financial Capacity
investigation agency of GOI - not a ○ Increase staffing
statutory body ○ Specialized training
● under the Department of Revenue of ○ Collaboration with
the Ministry of Finance. other agencies
● 1956 - Enforcement Unit , 1957 - ED , ● Enhancing Technology and
1960 - DEA to DoR Data Management
● FERA 1947 -> FERA 1973 -> FEMA 1999 + ○ Modernize IT
PMLA 2002 infrastructure
● Laws Enforced : ○ Integrate databases
○ FEMA 1999 ○ Utilize AI and machine
○ PMLA 2002 learning
○ The Fugitive Economic Offenders ● Streamlining Procedures
Act 2018 and Processes
○ Sponsoring Organizations under ○ Simplify investigation
the 1974 Foreign Exchange procedures
Conservation and Smuggling ○ Implement a robust
Activity Prevention Act. asset management
● Functions : system
○ Conduct Investigation u/ FEMA, ● Enhancing Transparency
impose penalty and Accountability
○ Execute prov of PMLA, FEOA ○ Publish annual
○ Search and seizures performance reports
○ All India jurisdiction, All personnel ○ Establish external
oversight
mechanisms
Criticism
○ Strengthen internal
vigilance mechanisms
● Misuse of powers - Political ● Capacity Building and
Interference Training
● Lack of Transparency and Clarity: ○ Conduct regular
● Selective Intervention training programs for
● Low conviction rate staff
● Lengthy and Delayed Investigation ○ Partner with
● Overlapping Jurisdiction international
organization
 The
Analyst
Handout Labour Rules for Workers Abroad
21st January,2024

Context: With assistance from the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the
governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are hiring around 10,000 workers to go to
Israel, mainly for construction work.

About : ● The Protectors of Emigrants (POEs)

● Registration on e-migrate
portal
○ Workers - conflict zones/
places without sufficient
labour protections -
register w/ MEA’
‘e-migrate’ portal.
○ Launched in 2014.
○ Digital platform -
streamline emigration
process for Indian
workers.
○ Create profiles, register
employment contracts,
and obtain emigration
clearance.
● Emigration Check Required
(ECR) scheme
○ passport category for
Indian nationals, want to
work abroad.
○ ECR passports - people,
not passed 10th grade or
higher education pass
certificate.
○ Work in ECR countries,
obtain Emigration
Clearance (EC) from the
Protector of Emigrants
(POE).
- grants emigration clearance to
intending emigrants.
● Perform functions assigned u/
Emigration Act, 1983.
● Currently, passports ECR scheme -
18 countries.
● Israel - not on the list
● Collection of service charges
from workers
○ No recruiting agency, collect
more than max of ₹30,000.
○ Include costs of domestic
travel or lodging and
boarding for conducting of
interviews by the recruiting
agent.
International practices
● Governed by 2 conventions of ILO:
o the Migration for Employment
Convention (Revised), 1949
o and Migrant Workers
(Supplementary Provisions)
Convention, 1975.
● India - not ratified both
conventions, Israel - ratified the
1949 convention in 1953.
 The
Analyst
Handout Ramsar Sites
21st January,2024

Context: The Central government has embarked on a mission - the Amrit Dharohar
initiative - to promote tourism at ecologically-sensitive wetlands.

About wetlands : ● What is the Amrit Dharohar

● Wetland of international Initiative?
importance u/ Ramsar ○ Part of 2023-24 budget
Convention ie ‘Convention on
announcement,
Wetlands’ - intergovernmental
launched during June
environmental treaty
established by UNESCO in 1971, 2023 - promote unique
named after city of Ramsar in conservation values of
Iran. the Ramsar Sites in
○ Wetlands - swamps, country.
marshes, lakes, mudflats, ○ Initiative taken by Union
mangroves, coral reefs,
Tourism Ministry and
fens, or bodies of water -
the Ministry of
whether natural or
artificial, permanent or Environment, Forest and
temporary. Climate Change under
● Significance ‘Amrit Dharohar
○ Helps develop and Capacity Building
maintain, international Scheme’ 2023.
network of wetlands -
important for conservation
of global biological
diversity, sustaining
human life through
maintenance of
ecosystem components,
processes and benefits.
○ Sites protected under
strict guidelines of
convention.
○ India - 75 Ramsar sites -
Odisha’s Chilika Lake and
Bhitarkanika Mangroves,
West Bengal’s
Sundarbans, Chitrangudi
Bird Sanctuary in Tamil
Nadu etc.
 The
Analyst
Handout Ramsar Sites
21st January,2024
 The
Analyst
Handout India Myanmar Border
21st January,2024
Context: Union Home Minister announced that the Centre has decided to fence the
entire length of the currently porous India-Myanmar border.

About : ○ of government’s Act East

policy
● 1,643-km border along
○ defunct since 2020, first
Northeastern states of
because of the Covid
Arunachal Pradesh (520 km),
pandemic.
Nagaland (215 km), Manipur
○ Military Coup in 2021 -
(398 km) and Mizoram (510
India suspended FMR in
km), porous border - only 10 km
September 2022.
fenced in Manipur.
○ demarcation of 1,472 km
has been completed as per
the MHA’s 2022-23 annual
report.
● Free Movement Regime (FMR)
○ Pact - allows tribes living
along the border on either
side, travel up to 16 km
inside the other country
without visa.
○ implemented in 2018 , part