The cabinet secretary will chair a high-level review meeting on Saturday with eight states and union territories exhibiting a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Union Health Ministry said.

The states showing a surge are Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal.

India's total COVID-19 active caseload is 1,59,590 which is 1.44 per cent of the total infections.

Six states -- Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat -- have shown a surge in new cases in a span of 24 hours, the ministry underlined.

Maharashtra continued to report the highest daily new cases at 8,333. It was followed by Kerala that reported 3,671 new cases and Punjab with 622 new cases.

The ministry said 85.75 per cent of 16,488 new cases registered in a span of 24 hours are from six states and UTs.

"Eight states are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases," the ministry said.

"In the last two weeks, Kerala has shown the maximum decline in the number of active cases, from 63,847 on February 14 to 51,679 today, while Maharashtra has shown the highest rise in active cases in the same period, from 34,449 on February 14 to 68,810 currently," the ministry added.

The cabinet secretary will chair a high-level review meeting on Saturday with Telangana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, MP, Gujarat, Punjab, J&K and WB which are exhibiting a surge in cases, it said.

A total of 1,42,42,547 vaccine doses have been administered through 2,92,312 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am.

These include 66,68,974 healthcare workers (HCWs) who were administered the first dose, 24,53,878 HCWs who were given the second dose and 51,19,695 frontline workers (FLWs) who took the first dose.

The second dose of COVID-19 vaccination started on February 13 for those beneficiaries who completed 28 days after receipt of the first dose. The vaccination of the FLWs started on February 2.

As on Day 42 of the vaccination drive (February 27), a total of 7,64,904 vaccine doses were given. Out of these, 3,49,020 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 13,397 sessions for first dose (HCWs and FLWs) and 4,20,884 HCWs received the second dose of the vaccine.

Eight states account for 62.75 per cent of the cumulative second dose vaccinations in India. Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for 12.64 per cent (3,10,058) of the total second dose vaccinations in India, the ministry said.

Nine states and UTs have administered the first vaccine dose to less than 60 per cent of the registered healthcare workers. These are Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Telangana, Ladakh, Chandigarh, Nagaland, Punjab and Puducherry.

Twelve states and UTs have reported vaccination coverage of more than 65 per cent frontline workers. These are Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Kerala and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The ministry said 12 states and UTs have reported vaccination coverage of less than 40 per cent of the frontline workers. These are Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Nagaland, Goa and Mizoram.

A total of 1,07,63,451 people have recovered so far, with 12,771 patients having discharged in a span of 24 hours.

"India's COVID-19 recovery rate of 97.17 per cent is among the highest in the world," the ministry underscored.

It said 84.79 per cent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 6 states and UTs.

Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of single-day recoveries with 4,936 newly recovered cases. As many as 4,142 people recovered in Kerala in a span of 24 hours followed by 642 in Karnataka.

Besides, 113 deaths were reported in a span of 24 hours.

Six states and UTs account for 82.3 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties at 48. It was followed by Punjab with 15 daily deaths and Kerala reported 14 deaths in a span of 24 hours.

Seventeen states and UTs have not reported any COVID-19 deaths in a span of 24 hours, the ministry highlighted.

These are Gujarat, Odisha, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Manipur, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Sikkim, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andman and Nicobar Islands, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.