India’s coronavirus cases  surged to  5,732,518 as the country has recorded 86,508 new cases in the past 24 hours, said India’s federal health ministry.

During the past 24 hours, 1,129 deaths were reported from across the country, reports Xinhua.

"The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across India is 5,732,518 and death toll is 91,149," reads the information released by the ministry.

According to ministry officials, 4,674,987 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

"The number of active cases in the country right now is 966,382," the information released by the ministry further reads.

Meanwhile, 67,436,031 samples were tested so far across the country, out of which 1,156,569 tests were conducted on Wednesday alone, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said Thursday.

On Wednesday late evening India's junior railways minister Suresh Angadi died due to COVID-19, officials said. The 65-year-old Angadi died nearly two weeks after he tested positive for coronavirus infection. He was admitted to AIIMS in Delhi after his condition worsened.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized on the need to increase focus on "effective testing, tracing, treatment and surveillance" to bring COVID-19 outbreak in the country under control.

"Effective messaging is necessary due to the asymptomatic nature of the infection which may lead to doubts about the efficacy of tests," Modi said during his virtual meeting with chief ministers of seven states with the highest number of COVID-19 cases.

"In such a situation, rumours may rise. It might raise doubts in the minds of the people that testing is bad. Some people also make the mistake of underestimating the severity of the infection."

Modi laid emphasis on developing the habit of using face masks on a daily basis. He also announced that the limit of using the State Disaster Response Fund for COVID-19 specific infrastructure has been increased from 35 percent to 50 percent.

Globally India is the second worst-hit country due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Also read: India’s Covid-19 cases reach 2.4 million

India on Wednesday reported 83,000 fresh cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, pushing the total tally to 6.9 million.

The health ministry also reported 1,085 new fatalities, raising the death toll to 90,020, reports AP.

The country has now confirmed more than 5.6 million cases, it said.

India is expected to become the world's worst-hit country within weeks, surpassing the United States, where nearly 6.9 million people have been infected by the virus.

But the past week has seen some improvement in India, with the numbers dropping after a record 97,894 new cases were reported on September 16.

Balram Bhargava, director-general of the Indian Council for Medical Research, said Tuesday that vaccines with at least 50 percent efficacy will be approved for use against the coronavirus.

That’s the benchmark set by the World Health Organization, as no vaccine for respiratory diseases is 100 percent effective, Bhargava told reporters.

Read Also: Coronavirus: India records nearly 87,000 new cases

India on Tuesday confirmed over 75,000 new coronavirus cases and more than 1,000 deaths in the past 24 hours.

India's death toll from the virus now stands close to 89,000.

With more than 5.5 million cases, India is behind only the United States in total number of confirmed infections, reports AP.

So far, nearly 76 percent of the new virus cases are concentrated in 10 states, with Maharashtra in central India accounting for almost a quarter of new infections on Monday.

Daily new infections in India have been hovering around 90,000 for the past few days, but experts point out that testing still varies from state to state. And new surges have been detected in states that had so far been left relatively unscathed by the virus.

Chhattisgarh, where nearly half the population is poor, has seen the sharpest increase in new infections. The caseload in the state, where the health system is very fragile, has increased from around 33,000 in beginning of the month to over 86,000 now.

The state government announced a weeklong lockdown of 10 districts on Monday.

Also read: Coronavirus: India records nearly 87,000 new cases

India on Monday registered nearly 87,000 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours and 1,130 deaths.

With the Health Ministry’s announcement, India now has more than 5.4 million reported cases since the pandemic began, reports AP.

India’s coronavirus caseload is expected to surpass that of the United States, currently with the most reported cases, within weeks.

India's total deaths in the pandemic now stand at 87,882.

More than 60 percent of the active cases are concentrated in five of 28 Indian states: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

Read Also: Taj Mahal reopens after 6 months

Despite the steady increase in cases, the government has continued to relax virus restrictions in order to help an economy that contracted 24 percent in the second quarter.

On Monday, the iconic Taj Mahal was reopened after a six-month closure, the longest in its history.

There will be some restrictions such as compulsory mask-wearing, thermal screening of visitors and physical distancing at the monument.

Data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University put the number of globally confirmed cases at 31,032,045 with 960,729 deaths.

Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December last year. The World Health Organization declared the crisis a pandemic in March.

Bangladesh has so far confirmed 348,918 cases and 4,939 deaths, according to JHU data. The country reported its first cases on March 8 and the first death on March 18.

There is currently no vaccine for the virus although a number of promising candidates are in the final stage of trial.

Read Also: Coronavirus: India records 92605 new cases, 1133 deaths

At least eight people were killed in central India after a residential building that was due for repairs collapsed early Monday, officials said, reports AP.

Dozens are feared trapped in the rubble of the four-story building in Maharashtra state.

At least 11 people were injured when the building collapsed, said Pankaj Ashiya, the commissioner of Bhiwandi in Thane district, a suburb of India’s financial capital Mumbai.

He said that the building was over 30 years old and needed repairs, which couldn’t be carried out due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Maharashtra is one of India’s hardest hit states by the virus with over a million reported cases. India has reported over 5 million cases.

India’s National Disaster Response Force said that the building had collapsed at around 4am.

Building collapses are common in India during the June-September monsoon season, when heavy rains weaken the foundations of structures that are poorly constructed or old.

Read Also: Lawmakers pass farm bills amid uproar in India Parliament