As many as 53,480 fresh infections pushed India's COVID-19 tally to 1,21,49,335, while 354 new fatalities, the highest single-day spike so far this year, took the death toll to 1,62,468, according to Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The country had recorded 355 deaths on December 17. The active caseload increased to 5,52,566 and accounts for 4.55 per cent of the total infections. The recovery rate further dropped to 94.11 per cent, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,14,34,301, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.34 per cent, it stated.