1.India and the United Arab Emirates Monday set a target of USD 200 billion in annual trade by 2032 and agreed to seal a strategic defence pact while boosting cooperation in energy, space and civil nuclear sectors with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin.

2.China's population shrank for the fourth consecutive year as birth rates in 2025 fell by about 10 million from a decade earlier, a trend widely blamed on the long-term effects of the former one-child policy.

3.CBSE mandates Secondary and Senior Secondary schools to appoint qualified Counseling and Wellness Teachers and Career Counselors at a ratio of one per 500 students for socio-emotional and career support.

4. Nitin Nabin was Monday elected unopposed as the BJP national president.

5.Noida Authority CEO Lokesh M. has been removed from his post and placed on the waiting list following the death of a 27-year-old software engineer who fell into a water-filled ditch in Sector 150.

6.The Delhi High Court Monday refused to suspend the 10-year jail term of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the custodial death case of the Unnao rape survivor’s father on the grounds of delay in trial, saying it was partly caused by the multiple applications he had filed in the matter.

7.Silver prices surged Rs10,000 Monday to breach the record Rs3 lakh-per-kilogram mark in the national capital, driven by strong demand in domestic and global markets.

8.Odisha has secured first position in distribution of Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) cards to eligible persons in just nine months of its implementation in the state.

9.Baripada, Opium plantation was detected inside Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district and poppy plants worth Rs1.91 crore were destroyed, police said .

10.The population of saltwater or estuarine crocodiles in Odisha’s coastal river systems has marginally increased by 32 individuals, with the latest census recording 1,858 of the reptile species, according to the 2026 estimation conducted by the Rajnagar Mangrove Forest (Wildlife) Division.

11.Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will call a national election February 8 to seek voter backing for increased spending, tax cuts and a new security strategy that is expected to accelerate a defence build-up.

12.The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for India's economic growth in fiscal 2026 by 0.7 percentage points to 7.3%, citing strong momentum, but said growth is likely to slow to 6.4% in the following two fi scal years as cyclical factors fade.

13.Novak Djokovic equaled two all-time tennis records by starting his 21st Australian Open, and he added another milestone Monday night with his 100th win at Melbourne Park.

14.Nine MBBS students at Dehradun's Doon Medical College were on Monday suspended and expelled from the hostel for allegedly ragging junior students.

15.The Election Commission of India (ECI) has extended the deadline for filing claims and objections related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu till January 30, 2026.