Competition Commission of India

• It is a quasi-judicial body.
• within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
• established to enforce the competition law under the Competition Act, 2002
• recommendations of the Raghavan committee, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was repealed and replaced by the Competition Act, 2002.

Commission consists of a Chairperson and not more than 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.

VISION 

To promote and sustain an enabling competition culture through engagement and enforcement that would inspire businesses to be fair, competitive, and innovative; enhance consumer welfare, and support economic growth.

MISSION

 The Competition Commission of India aims to establish a robust competitive environment through:

• Proactive engagement with all stakeholders, including consumers, industry, government, and international jurisdictions.
• Being a knowledge-intensive organization with high competence level.
• Professionalism, transparency, resolve, and wisdom in enforcement.

Source: The Indian Express

Election Commission of India

Appointment

• By President 
• 6 years tenure or up to the age of 65 Years whichever is earlier
• Same salary as judges of the SC of India

Article 324

•  The powers of  “superintendence, direction, and control of elections” is to be vested in an Election Commission.

Size

• not fixed by the constitution

Article 324(2) says that “the Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and a such number of other Election Commissioners if any, as the President may from time to time fix”.

All three ECs have equal say in the decision-making of the Commission.

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)

• Statutory authority
• Under the Jurisdiction of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• Aadhar Act 2016
• 12 digit 

National Investigation Agency (NIA)

• Central Agency
• It is empowered to deal with terror-related crimes across states w/o special permission from the states.
• NIA Act, 2008
• Works Under Ministry Of Home Affairs

Zonal Councils

• Zonal Councils were set up vide Part-III of the States Re-organisation Act, 1956. 

five Zonal Councils

1. The Northern Zonal Council
2. The Central Zonal Council 
3. The Eastern Zonal Council
4. The Western Zonal Council
5. The Southern Zonal Council

The North Eastern Council was set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972.

STRUCTURE

• Chairman - The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils.

• Vice Chairman - The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a time.
• Members- Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.
• Advisers- One person nominated by the Planning Commission for each of the Zonal Councils, Chief Secretaries, and another officer/Development Commissioner nominated by each of the States included in the Zone

Reference

• Zonal Councils

FINANCIAL Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB)

The body formed by the government to select the CEOs and Directors of public sector banks, insurance companies, and financial institutions will select top officials of banks via a grooming process under a leadership development programme.

• Replaced with Banks Board Bureau.

Election Commission

• An autonomous constitutional authority
• The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country. 
• The concept of a multi-member Commission has been in operation since then, with decision-making power by majority vote. 

Appointment

• President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
• tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
• The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through impeachment by Parliament.
• The same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India. 

Dispute

• The Commission also has advisory jurisdiction in the matter of post-election disqualification of sitting members of Parliament and State Legislatures.
• The decisions of the Commission can be challenged in the High Court and the Supreme Court of India by appropriate petitions.
• In respect of elections for the offices of the President and Vice President, such petitions can only be filed before the Supreme Court.

Power

• Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the superintendence, direction, and control of elections are vested in the Election Commission.
• Commission has the power to recognize the party, from amongst splinter groups or rival sections.
• Commission power to settle such disputes pertaining to symbols between factions of a party, is entirely legal

Previous Years Questions.

• In the light of recent controversy regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), what are the challenges before the Election Commission of India to ensure the trustworthiness of elections in India? (2018)
• To enhance the quality of democracy in India the Election Commission of India has proposed electoral reforms in 2016. What are the suggested reforms and how far are they significant to make democracy successful? (2017)

Add on

Source:

• https://eci.gov.in/

Enforcement Directorate (ED)

A multi-disciplinary organization mandated with the investigation of offenses of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws.

• Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance

Acts:

1. The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA)
2. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)
3. The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA)

Source:

• Enforcement Directorate

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

 Before SEBI,

• Capital Issues Control Act 1956
• Securities Contract Act, 1956

are the governing law of the Security market in India.

SEBI:

• Statutory Body
• HQ: Mumbai
• Est. in 1988
• Statutory Power (SEBI Act, 1992)
• The watchdog which regulates the securities and commodities market

It has also sought clarity on whether cryptocurrencies can be legally classified as securities. Right now, they aren’t.

• SEBI has said that crypto assets are not part of the definition of what constitutes  securities under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act of 1956
• celebrities should not be allowed to endorse cryptocurrencies

RECENT UPDATES

**The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed to bring the purchase and sale of mutual fund (MF) units under the purview of the insider trading rules.