1.Odisha has begun preparations for the Census-2027, with the first phase set to start in April 2026.

2.Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday received a phone call from his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who shared an update on the Gaza Peace Plan and reaffirmed their shared resolve to fight terror.

3.ISRO is gearing up for its first launch of the new year with the PSLV-C62 mission January 12 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh

4.Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Wednesday launched the Godabarish Mishra Model Primary School scheme and laid the foundation stone for 118 such schools across the state.

5.Filmmaker Aditya Dhar’s ‘Dhurandhar’ has become the highest-grossing Indian film of all time in a single language with a net India collection of over Rs831 crore, the makers said.

6.Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court Wednesday.

7.The state government has decided to conduct a comprehensive survey of urban local bodies (ULBs), especially the drinking water-deficient pockets, soon to streamline the potable water system and tide over the seasonal water shortage.

8. Former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Wednesday denounced slogans against Prime Minister and the Home Minister on the JNU campus and called those students “misled”.

9.An elephant killed 13 people in two days in separate attacks in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, creating panic in the region, a senior forest offi cial said Wednesday.

10.The US seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker that was being shadowed by a Russian submarine Wednesday, after a more than two-week-long pursuit across the Atlantic as part of a US “blockade” of Venezuelan oil exports, two US officials told Reuters.

11.Pakistan and Bangladesh air chiefs held talks on “potential procurement” of JF-Thunder fi ghter jets by Dhaka as a mark of deepening defence ties between the two countries, the Pakistani military has said.

12.National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has appointed Anil Kumar Singh as Director (Commercial) on its Board, further strengthening the leadership of the Navratna PSU.

13.The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Wednesday said the ICC is "willing to work closely" with it to address "security concerns" around the team's participation in the T20 World Cup in India even though its demand for a change of venue has not yet been accepted.

14.Mercury dipped to zero degrees Celsius at Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district – an eight-degree dip in the past 48 hours.

15.G Udayagiri in Kandhamal district recorded a minimum temperature of 3 degrees Celsius Wednesday, while Phulbani town registered 5 degrees Celsius, followed by Rourkela (5.1 degrees Celsius) and Jharsuguda (5.4 degrees Celsius), , the IMD said.