Amid a spurt in coronavirus cases, the government on Thursday said India has not yet reached the community transmission stage of Covid-19 and asserted that there have been localised outbreaks in some geographical areas. The Centre's assertion came on a day India registered a record single-day surge of 24,879 Covid-19 cases, taking the caseload to 7,67,296.

China on Thursday said Chinese and Indian troops have taken «effective measures» to disengage at the Galwan Valley and other areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and the situation is «stable and improving,» days after the two sides agreed on an expeditious withdrawal of soldiers from all the standoff points.

Parmesh Kaur, who is due to start his second year at the University of Illinois, Chicago, is anxious about his academic future. After the sudden change in the US policy regarding visas for international students, his university has asked him to report back on campus by July 22. It has decided to adopt a hybrid mode of teaching, holding some classes in person and most of them online.

Eight states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka and Telangana, account for around 90 per cent of the active Covid-19 cases in the country and 80 per cent of the active cases have been reported from 49 districts, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 was informed on Thursday.

The 15th summit between India and the European Union will be held via video conference on July 15, officials of the influential grouping said on Thursday.

ED sleuths began the fourth round of questioning of senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel at his official residence here on Thursday in connection with the Sandesara brothers' bank fraud and money-laundering case. ​​A three-member team of the federal probe agency reached the Rajya Sabha MP's residence in the capital.

China on Thursday said Chinese and Indian troops have taken «effective measures» to disengage at the Galwan Valley and other areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and the situation is «stable and improving,» days after the two sides agreed on an expeditious withdrawal of soldiers from all the standoff points.

In a virtual interaction with a group of eminent Indian-American scientists, academicians, and doctors on Wednesday, Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu said the vast network of institutional engagements have brought scientific communities between the two countries together in the fight against Covid-19.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at the government on Thursday over a media report on sexual exploitation of minor girls in the mines of Uttar Pradesh's Chitrakoot, asking «is this the India of our dreams»?

The health ministry has asked the three companies making generic versions of Covid-19 drug Remdesivir in India to regularly give details of production, stocks and sales in the wake of complaints of shortage-driven blackmarketing and overcharging. The MRP of Remdesivir marketed by Hetero Healthcare Limited is Rs 5,400 but consumers have reported it being sold at a price of anywhere between Rs 15,000 to 60,000, a complaint to the health ministry said.

India dismissed as a “continuation of a farce” Pakistan’s claim on Wednesday that Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav has refused to file a review petition against his death sentence and only wants to follow up on his mercy petition. India said the claim, yet another instance of concocted narratives, was meant to mask Pakistan’s reticence to implement the ICJ judgment in letter and spirit.

India recorded its biggest single-day spike on Wednesday with 25,530 fresh Covid-19 cases, breaching the 25,000-mark for the first time, even as the toll raced past the 21,000-mark with the country recording over 400 deaths for the sixth consecutive day. The spike in fresh cases comes amid increased countrywide testing in the last few days. 1.8 lakh people were tested on Sunday, 2.41 lakh on Monday and 2.62 lakh on Tuesday.

If the dirt-track road the Chinese have built along the Galwan river all the way to the LAC is found to have been “black-topped” to asphalt in coming weeks, or if the People’s Liberation Army begins stocking up provisions and shelters for the winter, these would be read as indications the Chinese want to settle in rather than disengage, top-level officials in government said.

The Army has directed all its officers and soldiers to delete their Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as over 80 apps from their mobile phones by July 15. Citing security considerations, the Army said those who do not follow the order will face action. The apps include the 59 ones with Chinese links which were banned by the Union government recently.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday appreciated the Cabinet for extending the 'world's largest food allocation programme' Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) till the end of November.