1.Maha Kumbh 2025 -- a 45-day event billed as the biggest gathering of humans in one place -- is all set to begin Monday with the fi rst major bathing ritual or ‘Shahi Snan’ on the auspicious occasion of ‘Paush Purnima’ at the Sangam, the confl uence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mystical Saraswati rivers .

2.The youth of the state will play a pivotal role in the vision to achieve a prosperous Odisha by 2036, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said Sunday

3.Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi will attend the MoU sighing ceremony for implementation of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) at New Delhi Monday.

 4.Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Sunday said a dedicated 24x7 help desk with toll-free number (1800-345-1122) has been set up at Odisha Sate Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) headquarters and in Ayodhya to assist passengers visiting Prayagraj where Maha Kumbh is being organised.

5.Former chief minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik has announced that he would bear the study expenses of both minor daughters of the BMC employee who was killed here in broad daylight a few days ago.

6.An NGO Saturday claimed that at least 474 homeless people in Delhi have died due to “winter exposure” between November 15, 2024, and January 10, 2025.

7.Chennai has been recognised as one of the top three cities in India excelling in social and industrial inclusion for women, according to a recent study.

8.ISRO Sunday said the two satellites launched to perform space docking experiments were brought within three metres and then moved safely back in a trial attempt.

9.Five Naxalites, including two women, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district Sunday, police said.

10. The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.

11.India's coal import rose by two per cent to 182.02 million tonnes (MT) in the April-November period of the current fi scal year.

12.One of the two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine has claimed during questioning that he thought he was going for training, not to the war against Ukraine, Kyiv’s security service has said.

13.President Joe Biden Saturday honoured Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction, the highest civilian award given by the president, saying the pontiff was “a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world”.

14.Investors will take cues from the December quarter corporate earnings, with blue-chips like Infosys, Reliance Industries scheduled to report their results this week, in addition, infl ation data and trading activity of foreign investors will also be crucial in dictating market trends, analysts said.

15.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay a two-day visit to Spain beginning Monday to review the overall trajectory of bilateral relations, nearly two-and a-half months after Spanish President Pedro Sanchez visited India.