As many as 53,480 fresh infections pushed India's COVID-19 tally to 1,21,49,335, while 354 new fatalities, the highest single-day spike so far this year, took the death toll to 1,62,468, according to Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The ountry had recorded 355 deaths on December 17.
The active caseload increased to 5,52,566 and accounts for 4.55 per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate further dropped to 94.11 per cent, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,14,34,301, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, it stated.
India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 24,36,72,940 samples had been tested up to March 30 with 10,22,915 being tested on Tuesday.
