India has reported its lowest active number of novel coronavirus cases in seven months, a year after the virus was first confirmed in the country.

The infection rate has slowed significantly since September and on Saturday 13,083 new cases were reported, one of the lowest figures on record and down from more than 20,000 each day at the beginning of the month, federal health data showed.

India has around 170,000 active Covid-19 patients, the lowest since June 2020. It has reported 10.7 million infections and 154,147 deaths — one of the world's lowest fatality rates, attributed partly to its relatively young population.

The country has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world after the United States and, with the likely true rate of infection even higher, one study suggests pockets of India have attained herd immunity through natural infection, Reuters reported.