Vision Academy EducareVision Academy Educare
Question 8 of 15 · Constitutional & Statutory Bodies
Questionmedium
This question was previously asked in

SSC

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), established in 1956, has its headquarters at:

Answer View answer ▾

Answer: Option D — New Delhi

Detailed Solution

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has its headquarters in New Delhi.

About the Directorate of Enforcement:

  • It was set up on 1 May 1956 as an "Enforcement Unit" in the Department of Economic Affairs, to handle violations of exchange control laws under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1947.
  • In 1957, it was renamed the "Directorate of Enforcement".
  • It now works under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
  • It is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for fighting economic crimes.
  • It is headed by a Director, usually an officer of the Indian Revenue Service or Indian Police Service.
  • It has zonal offices in major cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and others.

Laws it enforces:

Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999: a civil law dealing with foreign exchange, which replaced the stricter Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1973.

Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002: a criminal law under which the ED can investigate, attach property obtained through money laundering, arrest people and prosecute them. It came into force in 2005.

Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018: allows the confiscation of properties of economic offenders who flee India to avoid prosecution (for cases above 100 crore rupees).

In the case "Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India" (2022), the Supreme Court upheld most of the ED's powers under the PMLA, such as arrest, search and seizure.

Other important investigation and enforcement agencies of India:

  • Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI): set up in 1963; under the Department of Personnel and Training; it grew from the Special Police Establishment (1941).
  • National Investigation Agency (NIA): set up in 2009 after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks; investigates terrorism.
  • Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI): 1957; deals with smuggling.
  • Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO): 2003; under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
  • Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB): 1986; deals with drug trafficking.
  • Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND): 2004; receives reports of suspicious financial transactions.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai have zonal offices of the ED, but its headquarters is in New Delhi.

Quick tip

Remember: Enforcement Directorate = 1956 (HQ New Delhi; Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance; enforces FEMA 1999, PMLA 2002 and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act 2018); CBI = 1963; NIA = 2009.

💬 Discussions on this question

Ask a doubt ›

Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.

Ask a doubt

More Constitutional & Statutory Bodies Questions

View all ›
  1. Q1.The Planning Commission was replaced by:
  2. Q2.The Election Commission of India was established on:
  3. Q3.Article 148 of the Constitution of India deals with the:
  4. Q4.The National Commission for Women was set up in:
  5. Q5.Who gives advice to the Government of India on legal matters?

More General Knowledge Questions

  1. Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
  2. Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
  3. Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
  4. Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
  5. Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms

Constitutional & Statutory Bodies — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Constitutional & Statutory Bodies, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers bodies set up under the Constitution, such as the Election Commission, UPSC, Finance Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General and the national commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and statutory or executive bodies such as NITI Aayog, the NHRC, the CVC, the CBI and Lokpal. Questions often ask whether a body is constitutional or not, which article creates it, who appoints its head and for how long. For example, the CAG is appointed under Article 148, the Finance Commission under Article 280, and NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2015 by an executive resolution. Practise the constitutional and statutory bodies questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

‹ All Constitutional & Statutory Bodies questionsBrowse all topics ›