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- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently informed the Kerala High Court that it has registered 18 Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs) against cooperative banks and societies in Kerala to investigate money laundering linked to financial irregularities.
- About Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR):
- An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) is a formal document used by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to record a complaint or case for initiating investigations.
- The ECIR acts as the starting point for ED's actions, which can include the attachment of assets and arrests. Although the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) does not specifically mention the ECIR, it is a common practice for the ED to lodge an ECIR before taking further steps under the PMLA.
- The ECIR functions similarly to a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the police in cases involving cognizable offences. However, the Supreme Court has clarified that an ECIR cannot be treated as an FIR.
- According to the ED, the ECIR is primarily an internal document used for identifying a specific case and ensuring departmental convenience. It is not a public document, and the ED is not legally obligated to provide a copy of the ECIR to the accused.
- Two young women officers of the Indian Navy aboard the sailing vessel INSV Tarini recently crossed Point Nemo in the southern Pacific as part of their journey to circumnavigate the globe under the Navika Sagar Parikrama-II mission.
- About Point Nemo:
- Point Nemo, also referred to as the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility, is the most distant location on Earth from any landmass. This remote point is located in the South Pacific Ocean and is named after Captain Nemo, the sailor from Jules Verne’s iconic novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
- Situated roughly 2,688 kilometers from the nearest land, Point Nemo is known for its extreme isolation, with the closest human presence often being aboard the International Space Station above.
- The nearest land in each direction is:
- North: Ducie Island, part of the Pitcairn Islands (British Overseas Territory).
- Northeast: Motu Nui, one of the Easter Islands (Chilean dependency).
- South: Maher Island, part of Antarctica.
- Due to its isolation, the waters around Point Nemo are relatively devoid of marine life and are located within the South Pacific Gyre, which is known for having some of the clearest and least biologically active waters on the planet.
- Because of its remoteness and the low amount of marine traffic, Point Nemo has also become a preferred location for space agencies to dispose of space debris.
- Shubhanshu Shukla, an officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and an ISRO astronaut, has recently been named the pilot for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4).
- About Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4):
- Ax-4 is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), organized by Axiom Space in partnership with NASA.
- The Ax-4 crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with plans to dock at the ISS. Once aboard, the crew will spend up to 14 days on the space station.
- During their stay on the ISS, the private astronauts will conduct a variety of scientific experiments, perform technology demonstrations, and participate in educational outreach activities. Research will span areas such as materials science, biology, Earth observation, and more, with the potential to lead to significant breakthroughs.
- Notably, this mission will send the first Indian astronaut to the ISS, marking a historic collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Additionally, Ax-4 will also include the first astronauts from Poland and Hungary to stay aboard the ISS.