1.Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday flagged off the Brahmapur–Surat (Udhna) Amrit Bharat Express as a daily service and announced a new train for North Odisha, boosting rail connectivity in the state.

2.Authorities of the Hirakud Dam have announced the season’s first floodwater will be released on July 9, 2026.

3.The state government has directed the officials concerned to conduct surveys and assess the extent of crop loss caused by the recent spell of heavy rainfall in Odisha.

4.The Indian Railways will develop Brahmapur Railway Station in Odisha into a world-class facility under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme..The project will be executed with an expenditure of Rs 300 crore.  

5.Padma Vibhushan awardee and legendary Pandwani singer Teejan Bai passed away at the age of 70.

6. UGRAM 7.62x51 mm battle rifle, developed jointly by Hyderabad-based startup Dvipa Defence with ARDE, has completed key Army and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) trials.

7.The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday issued an important update regarding the NEET UG 2026 fee refund process.

8.West Bengal Police Monday arrested the key accused in the alleged rape-murder of a girl in South 24 Parganas district's Baruipur.

9.Microsoft is cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1 per cent of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its Xbox video game business.

10.A young man from Arjunabindha village under Pirahat police limits in Bhadrak district allegedly lost Rs 25,000 to a cyber fraudster who posed as a Crime Branch superintendent of police.

11.The carcass of an endangered Irrawaddy dolphin was found washed ashore on Pentha beach in Odisha's Kendrapada district, forest officials said Monday.

12.Former Odisha cadre IAS officer V K Pandian Monday said that he visited the earthquake-hit Venezuela and met President Delcy Rodriguez, and shared the eastern state's disaster preparedness.

13. The foundation stone for an India-backed 10,000-home project was laid Monday in Sri Lanka's Badulla district.

14. Russia unleashed waves of missiles and drones at Ukraine, killing at least 21 people in attacks.

15.The controversial animated film Mahaprabhu Jagannath, originally scheduled for release on July 10, has been postponed following objections raised by Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb.