New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS): After dipping below 47,000 new cases three days back, a spike in daily fresh corona cases has been on the rise ever since. A total of 54,366 new infections and 690 deaths in 24 hours, took India's tally on Friday to 77,61,312.

Out of the total Covid cases, 6,95,509 are currently active, 69,48,497 have been discharged, while 1,17,306 lost the battle against the pandemic.

India's cumulative Positivity Rate is 7.81 percent and the daily figure is 3.8 percent. Several states and UTs are exhibiting a Positivity Rate higher than the national average indicating a need for aggressive and widespread testing.

While the recovery rate stands at 89.53 percent, the fatality rate is 1.51 percent, the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit with a total of 16,25,197 cases, including 42,831 deaths; followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

According to the data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India conducted 14,42,722 sample tests in a single day on Thursday, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 10,01,13,085.

"India achieved a remarkable milestone of 10 crore tests for Covid-19 ICMR has been working to exponentially increase access to testing. Rampant testing has enabled us to successfully test, track and treat infections that led to the efficient management of Covid-19 situation in the country," ICMR stated.