Daily Current Affairs 04 Jul

Deregistered Firms to face money laundering probe

• The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will be roped in to probe if companies de-registered recently have been involved in money laundering.
• Scrutiny stepped up Meanwhile, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is preparing to send showcause notices to over three lakh more firms for striking off their names from the ‘register of companies 
• ED, which deals with Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) provisions, will soon be called in to look at the companies recently struck off the register.
• The ED is empowered "to take actions of attachment and confiscation of property if the same is determined to be proceeds of crime derived from a Scheduled Offence under PMLA."
• The ED can also launch prosecution against those involved in money laundering.
• These measures followed an operation that was launched post-demonetisation to expedite action against companies that failed to start business within one year of incorporation or were not carrying on any business for two immediately preceding financial years or not applied for dormant status.
• It gained momentum in April, when the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in several States/Union Territories issued show cause notices to over two lakh companies for striking off their names. The firms are given 30 days to submit their response. If the reply is found unsatisfactory, the corporate entity's name can be removed
•  But,referring to Section 252 of the Companies Act, officials pointed out that persons aggrieved by the RoC order — notifying a company as dissolved under Section 248 of the Act — may file an appeal to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) within three years from the RoC’s order. 
• If the NCLT finds that the removal of the company’s name was unjustified, it may order its restoration in the register.
  

Israel supports India’s fight against terrorism

Israel believes there is no difference between Pakistan-based "Lashkar-e-Taiba" and the Hamas group operating in Israel and Palestine, adding that the Israeli government has unequivocally supported India on the issue of terrorism.

Not Jerusalem, Tel Aviv to remain Embassy’s location

• Affirming India’s traditional support for the “two-state” solution between Israel and Palestine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will support all efforts for a resolution, including on the contentious issue of Jerusalem, which Israel has claimed in its entirety since 1967.
• In the clearest position of India’s stand on the Jerusalem question, the Prime Minister said the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv will remain there at least until a “finalstatus” agreement between the two parties

Elephant population sees marginal rise in Odisha

• The first ever synchronised elephant census carried out in the country’s eastern region, involving four States, has found 1,976 elephants living in different forests of Odisha
• The synchronised elephant census-2017, the results of which were made public here on Monday, revealed that the jumbo population has gone up marginally by 22 elephants compared with 1,954 in 2015.
•  Apart from direct sighting, indirect estimation of elephant through dung decay rate method  
• The Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru carried out the census.
•  The highest number of 330 elephants was sighted in the core of Similipal followed by Dhenkanal with 169. 
• Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary, which once boasted over 80 elephants, has only one elephant. As many as 5,847 people were engaged for enumerating the jumbos in different forests.

see also:Project elephant

SC allows abortion of ailing foetus

• Upholding her right to choose, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed a woman to abort her over 20- week-old foetus with severe abnormalities.
• The law does not permit abortion if the foetus is over 20 weeks old
• Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 bars abortion if the foetus has crossed the 20-week mark.
• An exception to the law is made if a registered medical practitioner certifies to a court that the continued pregnancy is life-threatening for the mother or the baby.
• It was possible to detect certain abnormalities before 20 weeks, but some could be detected only after that period.
• The Supreme Court's decision whether a woman should be allowed to abort or not after the 20 weeks period has been on a case-to-case basis.
• The primary factor that has guided its decisions has been the expert opinion of a court-appointed medical board on the risk it poses to the mother and the child.