Breaking news: July 29, 2020 | As it happened

1,348 new COVID-19 cases have been detected in Assam out of 18941 tests done in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate is at a low of 7.11%. Total cases at 36,295, including 26,618 discharged, 9,582 active cases and 92 deaths.

2,613 COVID-19 positive cases and 66 deaths reported in Pune today. The death toll rises to 1,858 while total positive cases are at 78,013. 

226 COVID-19 cases reported in Jharkhand today. The total number of cases in the state is now at 9,894, including 5,734 active cases, 4,061 recovered and 99 deaths. 

1,118 COVID-19 cases, 916 recovered/discharged and 60 deaths reported in Mumbai today. The total number of cases in the city is now at 1,11,964, including 85,327 recovered/discharged, 20,123 active cases and 6,244 deaths. 

38,47,531 people affected due to floods in Bihar and 25,116 people at shelter homes. 26 teams of National Disaster Response Force/State Disaster Response Force deployed in affected areas. 

Uttarakhand's COVID-19 cases rise to 6,866 with 279 new infections reported today. The numbers of active and recovered cases are 2,945 and 3,811 respectively. 

Manipur reported 141 new COVID-19 cases today, taking the total number of cases in the state to 2,458. The number of active and recovered cases are 805 and 1,653 respectively. 

Goa's COVID-19 tally reaches 5,489 with 202 new cases reported today. The number of active and recovered cases in the state is 1,666 and 3,784 respectively. The death toll 39. 

298 deaths and 9,211 new COVID-19 cases reported in the state today. The total number of positive cases is now 4,00,651 including 2,39,755 recovered cases, 1,46,129 active cases and 14,463 deaths. Recovery rate in the state is at 59.84%.

1,144 COVID-19 cases and 24 deaths reported in Gujarat in the last 24 hours. The total cases increase to 59,126, including 13,535 active cases, 43,195 cured/discharged and 2,396 deaths. 

44 new COVID-19 cases reported in Chandigarh today, the total number of cases in the Union Territory stands at 978. The death toll stands at 14. 

2,294 COVID-19 cases, 2,094 discharged, and 41 deaths reported in West Bengal today. The total number of cases in the state is now at 65,258, including 44,116 discharged, 19,652 active cases, and 1,490 deaths. 

755 COVID-19 cases, 662 recovered/discharged and 7 deaths reported in Haryana today. The total number of cases in the state is now at 33,631, including 26,420 recovered/discharged and 413 deaths. 

1,144 COVID-19 cases, 992 recovered and 10 deaths reported in Rajasthan today, as of 8:30 pm. The total number of cases in the state is now at 39,780, including 28,309 recovered,  10,817 active cases and 654 deaths. 

14 deaths and 917 new COVID-19 cases reported today, taking the total number of positive cases in Madhya Pradesh to 30,134 including 20,934 recovered cases, 8,356 active cases and 844 deaths.

Kerala recorded 903 new COVID-19 cases & 641 recoveries today. A total of 11,369 patients have recovered from the disease so far. There are 10,350 active cases now. 

Punjab reported 568 new COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state now stands at 14,946 including 10,213 recoveries and 361 deaths. 

540 COVID-19 cases reported in Jammu and Kashmir today, 151 from Jammu division and 389 Kashmir division. The total number of cases in the Union Territory is now at 19,419, including 7,749 active cases, 11,322 recovered and 348 deaths. 

2 new COVID-19 positive cases reported in Dharavi area of Mumbai today, taking the total number of cases in Dharavi to 2,545 including 83 active cases. 

5,503 COVID-19 cases, 2,397 discharged and 92 deaths reported in Karnataka in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state is now at 1,12,504, including 42,901 discharged, 67,448 active cases and 2,155 deaths (8 due to non-COVID causes). 

10,093 COVID-19 cases, 2,784 discharged and 65 deaths reported in Andhra Pradesh in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state is now at 1,20,390, including 55,406 discharged, 63,771 active cases, and 1,213 deaths. 

6,426 new COVID-19 cases and 82 deaths reported in Tamil Nadu in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 2,34,114. 5,927 patients were discharged today. 57,490 cases still active in the state. 

1,035 COVID-19 cases, 1,126 recovered/discharged and 26 deaths reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in the national capital is now at 1,33,310, including 1,18,633 recovered/discharged, 10,770 active cases and 3,907 deaths. 

Himachal Pradesh's COVID-19 case tally rises to 2,364. There are 1,012 active cases, 1,323 recovered cases and 12 deaths. 

Union Ministers Prakash Javadekar and Ramesh Pokhriyal briefed media to announce rejig in Education system of India. Here are the highlights from the presser:

• Cabinet under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given approval to a new education policy for the 21st century. It is important, as for 34 years there were no changes in the education policy. 
• Cabinet approved National Education Policy 2020. Major reforms in higher education include a target of 50% gross enrollment ratio by 2035 and provision for multiple entry/exit.
• Following the new education policy and reforms, we will achieve 50% Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) by 2035.
• Other features include graded academic, administrative and financial autonomy of institutions and a single regulator for all higher education, working under a self-disclosure based transparent system for approvals in place of numerous 'inspections'.
• E-courses will be developed in regional languages; virtual labs will be developed and a National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) is being created. 
• There are over 45,000 affiliated colleges in our country. Under Graded Autonomy, Academic, Administrative and Financial Autonomy will be given to colleges, on the basis of the status of their accreditation. 
• National mission to focus on basic literacy and basic numeracy, major changes in the pedagogical structure of curriculum with no rigid separation between streams, all separations between vocational and academic and curricular and extra-curricular will also be removed.
• Board exams will be low stakes and test actual knowledge instead of rote learning. Mother tongue to be a medium of instruction till 5th grade. Report cards will be a comprehensive report on skills and capabilities instead of just marks and statements.
• As on date, we have different norms for deemed universities, central universities, for different individual standalone institutions. New Education Policy says that for reasons of quality, norms will be same for all and not as per ownership.

Five Rafale jets have arrived from France to be inducted in Indian Air Force. Rafale fighter aircraft landed at Ambala airbase. 

Haryana: Touchdown of Rafale fighter aircraft at Ambala airbase. Five jets have arrived from France to be inducted in Indian Air Force. (Source - Office of Defence Minister)

Jet Airways, which is undergoing an insolvency resolution process, saw its loss widening to Rs 5,535.75 crore in the year ended March 2019, mainly due to surge in expenses.

Indian Rafale contingent establishes contact with Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata deployed in Western Arabian Sea. 

INS Kolkata Delta63: Arrow leader (flying Rafale),welcome to Indian Ocean
Rafale leader: Many thanks. Most reassuring to have an Indian warship guarding seas
INS Kolkata: May you touch the sky with glory. Happy landings
Rafale leader: Wish you fair winds. Happy hunting. Over&out

Union Cabinet approves renaming of HRD Ministry as Education Ministry

The results of the annual High School Certificate (HSC) examinations-2020 conducted by the Odisha Board of Secondary Education (BSE) were announced on Wednesday.

With 24 fresh cases in the past 24 hours and one death due to Covid-19, the Agra district administration has scaled up testing on a daily basis, particularly in 88 containment zones.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued 'Orange alert,' indicating heavy to very heavy rainfall in the districts of Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad in Kerala on July 29 and 30.

Hours ahead of the landing of five Rafale aircrafts in an air base in this town of Haryana, the local administration has imposed prohibitory orders, banning photography of assets and Rafale aircrafts, and beefed up security.

The total number of COVID19 active cases in India is 5,09,447, discharged/migrated cases 9,88,030 and 34,193 deaths. Total number of COVID-19 cases in India is now 15.31 lakh; 768 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Domestic equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 100 points in opening session on Wednesday tracking positive cues from Asian peers. The BSE Sensex was trading 114.99 points or 0.30 per cent higher at 38,607.94; while the NSE Nifty was up 32.45 points or 0.29 per cent at 11,333.

The Andaman and Nicobar administration has decided to impose a complete lockdown on weekends beginning August 1 to contain the spread of coronavirus, an official said on Wednesday.

 Madhya Pradesh minister Tulsi Silawat and his wife have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. In a tweet on Tuesday night, the water resources minister said he and his wife are in home quarantine on the advice of doctors.

Yoga guru Swami Ramdev reveals yoga tips and lessons to keep heart healthy | WATCH NOW 

Hello and welcome to today's live coverage of coronavirus news in India and across the world, with me, Sushmita Panda and my colleagues  Himanshu Shekhar, Shashwat  Bhandari, Vani Mehrotra, Priya Jaiswal,  Sidhant Mamtany and Rashi Hardaha. You can get in touch with us directly on twitter ​​ ​​@sushmitapanda, @himaanshus, @ShashBhandari​ @vani_mehrotra​ @priyajais, @SidMamtany, and  @rashihardaha for news, tips, photos, questions and comments. Stay tuned to Indiatvnews.com (@indiatvnews) for all the latest updates on what's happening around the world. 

Here's a quick overview: 

The total number of global cases has surpassed 16.8 million, including more than 663,000 fatalities. More than 10,455,000 patients are reported to have recovered.

Total positive cases country-wise: