A record single-day rise of 2,61,500 coronavirus infections has taken India's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,47,88,109, while active cases have surpassed the 18-lakh mark, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.
The death count increased to 1,77,150 with a record 1,501 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Registering a steady increase for the 39th day in a row, the active cases stand at 18,01,316, comprising 12.18 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 86.62 per cent, the ministry said.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,28,09,643, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.20 per cent, the data stated.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed 20 lakh on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.
Meanwhile, Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today tweeted to say that he is suspending all his public rallies in West Bengal in view of view of the Covid situation in the state. In a brief post, Mr Gandhi also advised political leaders against holding large public rallies.
"I would advise all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies under the current circumstances," Mr Gandhi tweeted.
West Bengal, which is in the midst of an eight-phased assembly election, has seen a sudden spike the COVID-19 cases.