Amid an exponential surge in COVID-19 cases, India's ban on scheduled international flights have been extended for a month.

"The competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued ...regarding Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of 31 May, 2021," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in a circular on Friday.

This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA, IBNS said. 

However, scheduled International flights may be allowed on select routes by the competent authority on a case to case basis, the circular further elaborated.

India recorded nearly 3500 deaths due to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, as per the Ministry of Health released data on Friday.

During the same period, 386,452 fresh cases were also registered.