India added a record over 2 lakh new COVID-19 infections in a day pushing the total tally of cases to 1,40,74,564, while the active cases surpassed the 14-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

A total of 2,00,739 new COVID-19 cases have been registered in a span of 24 hours. The death toll increased to 1,73,123 with 1,038 daily new fatalities, the highest since October 3, 2020 the data updated at 8 am showed.

With over 1 lakh infections per day for the ninth consecutive day, India has added 13,88,515 cases in nine days.

Registering a steady increase for the 36th day in a row, the active cases have increased to 14,71,877, comprising 10.46 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 88.31 per cent.

The active caseload was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12 and it was at its highest at 10,17,754 on September 18, 2020.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,24,29,564, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.23 per cent, the data stated.

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

According to the ICMR, 26,20,03,415 samples have been tested up to April 14 with 13,84,549 samples being tested on Wednesday.

The 1,038 new fatalities include 278 from Maharashtra, 120 from Chhattisgarh, 104 from Delhi, 73 from Gujarat, 67 from Uttar Pradesh, 63 from Punjab, 51 from Madhya Pradesh, 38 from Karnataka, 31 from Jharkhand, 29 from Rajasthan, 25 from Tamil Nadu, 24 from West Bengal, 22 from Kerala, 21 from Bihar, 18 each from Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, 13 each from Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

A total of 1,73,123 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 58,804 from Maharashtra, 13,046 from Karnataka,12,970 from Tamil Nadu, 11,540 from Delhi, 10,458 from West Bengal, 9,376 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,672 from Punjab and 7,339 from Andhra Pradesh.

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.