India reported a record 26,506 new coronavirus cases as authorities re-imposed lockdowns in its most populous state and in an industrial hub, home to automakers, drug factories and brewers, Reuters reported.

The new cases pushed India's tally to nearly 800,000 cases, the world's third biggest outbreak, behind only the United States and Brazil in confirmed infections.

The capital, New Delhi, along with Maharashtra state, home to the financial capital of Mumbai, and the southern state of Tamil Nadu account for about 60 per cent of its cases.