Today in History (June 16th, 1963)
On 16th June 1963, Valentina V. Tereshkova from the Soviet Union became the first woman to travel in space. She was launched aboard the spacecraft Vostok 6, which completed 48 orbits in 2 days, 22 hours, and 50 minutes.
Summary of Today’s News
Bangkok Vision 2030
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit will adopt Bangkok Vision 2030 to make BIMSTEC countries prosperous, resilient, and open regions focusing on balanced and sustainable growth. It will be adopted at the BIMSTEC Summit to be held in 2023. The members of BIMSTEC are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
The Defence Acquisition Council of India has approved procuring 31 high-altitude and long-endurance armed MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) from General Atomics. It will be executed through the Foreign Military Sales route of the U.S. Government. Of the 31 UAVs to be procured, 15 are for the Indian Navy, and eight each for the Army and the Air Force.
Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS)
The Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) refers to the sale of excess food grains through e-auction at pre-determined prices by Government agencies to stabilize the prices of food grains in the open market. Recently, the Union Government has discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the Central pool to the States under the OMSS scheme.
U.S. military gets access to Papua New Guinea bases.
As per the landmark security agreement between the United States and Papua New Guinea, the U.S.A. military will have unimpeded access to the bases with pre-position equipment, supplies, and materials and exclusive use of some zones for development and construction activities. It will boost the effort of the United States to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Exports dip again; trade deficit hits five-month high.
India’s merchandise export fell 10.3% to $34.98 billion in May 2023, while imports contracted at a slower 6.6% rate to $57.1 billion, with the trade deficit recording a five-month high of $22.1 billion. The moderation in export growth is due to persistent geopolitical tensions, monetary tightening, and fear of recessions.
