Prelims Bits 15-02-2018

Enforcement Directorate

• Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against the fraudulent transaction of Rs.11, 500 corers in one of the branches of PNB.
• Enforcement Directorate is a specialized financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
• It enforces Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
• Its headquarters is situated in New Delhi and headed by the Director of Enforcement.
• The director is appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister.

Mudumalai Tiger Reserve

• Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) is situated at the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
• The reserve straddles the Ooty -Mysore interstate national highway.
• It is contiguous with Wyanaad Wildlife Sanctuary on the west, Bandipur Tiger Reserve on the north.

• The Moyar river flows downstream into the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and is the natural line of division between Mudumalai and Bandipur Sanctuary.
• The MTR also forms part of  the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
• The Reserve has tall grasses, commonly referred to as “Elephant Grass”, Bamboos of the giant variety, valuable timber species like Teak, Rosewood.
• Fauna found in the region are Tiger, Elephant, Indian Gaur, Panther, Barking Deer, Malabar Giant Squirrel and Hyena etc.,
• Sathayamangalam,Kalakkad Mudunthurai and Anamalai are the other tiger reserves in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Whip

• The issue of expulsion of Member of Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu for violating the party’ whip is before the Madras High Court.
• Whip in general denotes an official of a political party appointed to maintain parliamentary discipline among its members, especially so as to ensure attendance and voting in debates.
• The office of Whip is not mentioned in the constitution but it is based on parliamentary convention.
• In the 14^th All India Whips Conference, 2008, the former Vice President Mohd. Hamid Ansari outlined the functions of whip as follows,

1. Facilitate the functioning of the legislature and optimize its output.
2. Be the channel for communicating party policy, on a day to day basis, to the rank and file of the party in the legislature
3. Act as counselors to their Members and advisors to party leadership
4. Function as the channel for dispensing favors and for enforcing discipline.

Maramon Convention

• Maramon Convention is the Asia’s largest weeklong annual Christian meet.
• The convention is organized in the vast river bed of Pampa near the Kozhencherry Bridge.
• The ongoing 123^rd convention at Maramon,Pathanamthitta, Kerala began with a call to conserve the river Pampa and the environment.

Mumbai 12^th wealthiest City in the world

• According to a report by New World Wealth, Mumbai, the economic hub of India is the 12^th wealthiest city.
• Mumbai also features among the top 10 cities in terms of billionaire population.
• The list of 15 wealthiest cities was topped by New York with a total wealth of $3 trillion.
• Among the 15 cities listed, San Francisco, Beijing, Shanghai, Mumbai and Sydney were the fastest growing in terms of wealth growth over the past 10 years, the report said

Clean Air Campaign

• The ‘Clean Air for Delhi’ was launched on February 10, 2018 jointly by the Central Government and the Government of Delhi to address all sources of pollution in Delhi.
• Joint teams of officials of Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi Government, and Municipal Corporations were constituted.
• These teams will visit every administrative division of Delhi, monitor causes of pollution and initiate remedial measures, including penal actions against serious polluters on the spot.
• The campaign will also include enforcement of pollution-control measures for vehicles, driving discipline, inspection of power plants in Delhi.

Source: PIB, The Hindu, Business Standard