India registers 18,177 new Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours, 217 deaths

During this period, the country recorded 217 deaths which took up the total number of fatalities in the country to 1,49,435.

The Covid-19 fatality rate stood at 1.45 per cent while the recovery rate shot upto 96.16 per cent.

The number of active cases in the country stood at 2,47,220 while the number of recoveries touched 99,27,310 with 20,923 people recuperating from the disease in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, two Covid-19 vaccine candidates-Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and the Serum Institute of India's Covishield-on Sunday received the approval of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use in India.

Drug Controller General of India VG Somani said both firms submitted data based on their trial runs and both have been granted permission for "restricted use".

"We'll never approve anything if there is slightest of safety concern. The vaccines are 100 per cent safe," Somani said at a media briefing.

Sharing the news, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: "It would make every Indian proud that the two vaccines that have been given emergency use approval are made in India! This shows the eagerness of our scientific community to fulfil the dream of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, at the root of which is care and compassion."

The vaccines received the approval after they were cleared by a government-appointed panel on Jan 1 and 2.