Current Affairs in Short: 12 May 2022

Series of virtual interaction with deployed personnel initiated by Navy Chief

• The Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar initiated a series of interactions with the personnel deployed at the remote naval locations over video calls.
• Navy Chief spoke to the Marine Commandos deployed at detachments across the country.
• As per the Indian Navy, the Chief acknowledged their (commandos) presence in vital locations and emphasized the importance of being combat-ready at all times.
• Marine Commandos is the special force of the Indian Navy. They are deployed with the surface ships for the deployment in Operation Sankalp as well as anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden.

India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Package completes two years

• Atmanirbhar Bharat Package to fight the Coronavirus pandemic in India completed two years on May 12, 2022.
• Prime Minister Modi had announced the special economic and comprehensive package of Rs. 20 lakh crores in 2020. It was equivalent to India’s 10 per cent GDP.
• PM Modi had also given a clarion call for Aatma Nirbhar Bharat or Self-Reliant India movement and also outlined five pillars of self-reliance.
• After the announcement by PM Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid down the details of the package in a string of press conferences from May 13 to 17, 2020.

Election Commission announces poll schedule for 57 Rajya Sabha Seats

• The Election Commission of India has announced the poll schedule for 57 Biennial elections for 57 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states.
• These states include Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha, Telangana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
• The notification for the election will be issued on May 24 and the last date of nomination for these states will be June 10.
• Some of the prominent members who are retiring from Rajya Sabha are Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Nirmala Sitharaman, Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram, among others.

PM Modi expresses grief over demise of Hindi Scholar Dr. Rama Kant Shukla

• PM Modi has expressed deep grief over the demise of Sanskrit and Hindi scholar Dr. Rama Kant Shukla.
• PM Modi, via Twitter, said that he was deeply saddened over the passing away of Dr. Shukla and expressed deepest condolences to his family.
• Prime Minister Modi acknowledged that Dr. Shukla made invaluable contribution to the world of Hindi and Sanskrit literature.