NEW DELHI, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- India's COVID-19 tally rose to 3,936,747, as the death toll mounted to 68,472 on Friday, showed the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

As many as 83,341 new cases and 1,096 deaths were recorded over the past 24 hours across the country. This is the highest single-day spike of new COVID-19 cases in the country so far.

There are 831,124 active cases across the country, while 3,037,151 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals.

The Indian government has ramped up testing of the COVID-19. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 46,679,145 tests had been conducted till Thursday and 1,169,765 tests were conducted on Thursday alone.

India entered the Unlock 4 phase with effect from Tuesday, and fresh guidelines to be followed during Unlock 4 were issued last Saturday.

According to the new guidelines, schools will remain shut through September, though students of 9-12 standards have been allowed to approach their teachers at schools for guidance.

Metro Rail services would be allowed to restart from Sept. 7 in a graded manner, and public functions or other congregations would be allowed with a ceiling of 100 persons from Sept. 21.