International

1. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the “exponential” expansion of his country's nuclear arsenal, the development of a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile and the launch of its first spy satellite, state media reported Sunday, after he entered 2023 with another weapons firing following a record number of testing activities last year.
2. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ Sunday inaugurated the Himalayan nation's third international airport in western Nepal's tourist hub of Pokhara built with Chinese assistance.

National

1. A series of assembly polls this year are being considered as semi-finals to the Lok Sabha election slated to be held in the summer of 2024. Key states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana would go for polls this year, besides states from the North-East.
2. India’s unemployment rate rose to 8.30 per cent in December, the highest in 16 months, from 8.00 per cent in the previous month, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed Sunday.
3. Dining out in 2023 would be a costlier affair, as oil marketing companies (OMCs) Sunday, the first day of the New Year, hiked the price of commercial LPG cylinder by `25. Rates of domestic LPG cylinders have been kept unchanged.
4. Artisans give finishing touches to a mural in Bhubaneswar, Sunday, as the state gears up to host Men’s Hockey World Cup.
5. A total of 1,997 road accidents occurred in 2021 due to the use of mobile phone by drivers while driving, which claimed 1,040 lives, according to a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) report. The report titled ‘Road accidents in India – 2021’, further said 555 road accidents took place due to jumping of red light which claimed 222 lives in 2021.
6. Two persons were killed and 17 others injured Sunday when a massive fire was triggered after a blast in a boiler of a chemical factory in Maharashtra's Nashik district, officials said citing preliminary information as the blaze raged on for hours.
7. The JMM-led government in Jharkhand completed three years in office in December, 2022. The party, which originated from the struggle for the rights of tribals and issues related to water, forest and land, is on a strong wicket despite challenges.
8. 4,716 cell phones seized from prisoners in Punjab.
9. Haryana minister Sandeep Singh, who has been booked in a sexual harassment case, on Sunday gave up his Sports portfolio, saying he has taken this step on moral grounds.
10. India’s digital prowess will grow in 2023 and over the next five years, driven by technology, startups, semiconductors, electronics and computing said Rajeev Chandrasekhar IT Minister .
11. Kerala-born Krishnakumar, who had served at multiple positions in the group, including heading its hospitality arm Indian Hotels, was 84.
12. A woman doctor was found dead under mysterious circumstances inside her rented house which was locked from inside at Baneikala slum under Joda police limits in Keonjhar district on Sunday night. The deceased identified as Subhashree Kar was working in the local Urban Primary Health Center (UPHC) here.
13. Electric two-wheeler sales could miss the target of 10 lakh units in fiscal 2022-23 by 20 per cent, mainly due to withholding of around Rs 1,100 crore subsidy by the government.
14. The Indian rupee depreciated over 11 per cent in 2022 against the dollar -- its poorest performance since 2013 and the worst drubbing among Asian currencies -- as the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary policy propelled the greenback.
15. The collections from Goods and Services Tax (GST) grew by 15 per cent to over Rs 1.49 lakh crore in December 2022.
16. In another step towards digitalization of the judiciary, the Supreme Court will launch on Monday a project which will provide free access to official law reports of its verdicts to law students, lawyers and the general public.

Odisha

1. Around two lakh devotees from across the state and outside visited Srimandir and paid obeisance to the sibling deities on the New Year’s Day, Sunday.
2. The Steel Melting ShopII of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) has surpassed the historic milestone of production of 50 Million Tonne (MT) crude steel, an official said Sunday.
3. Continuing with its efforts to contain corruption, Odisha government's Vigilance Department has unearthed disproportionate assets (DA) worth `174.83 crore in 2022.
4. Six mobile phones were allegedly looted inside Mo Bus no-18 that was en route to Cuttack from Nandankanan.