India on Saturday recorded 1,27,952 fresh coronavirus cases that took its infection tally to 4,20,80,664, while the number of active cases declined further to 13,31,648, according to Union health ministry data.

The death toll climbed to 5,01,114 with 1,059 more fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The active cases comprise 3.16 per cent of the total infections in the country, the ministry said.

A reduction of 1,03,921 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 95.64 per cent, the ministry said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 7.98 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 11.21 per cent, it said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 4,02,47,902. The case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent, it added.

So far, the cumulative doses administered in the country under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive have exceeded 168.98 crore.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 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, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4, 2021, and three crore on June 23.

The 1,059 new fatalities include 595 from Kerala and 81 from Maharashtra.

So far, 5,01,114 deaths have been reported in the country, including 1,42,940 from Maharashtra, 57,296 from Kerala, 39,250 from Karnataka, 37,696 from Tamil Nadu, 25,952 from Delhi, 23,286 from Uttar Pradesh and 20,758 from West Bengal.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.