Drugs Controller General Dr. Venugopal G. Somani said that both vaccines would be administered in two dosages.

India's vaccination drive is expected to start in a few days once the country's regulator approves a vaccine.

All six patients have been kept in isolation, the health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that their fellow travellers were being tracked down.

State governments are reluctant to stop people from venturing out during the Hindu festivals of Durga Puja next week and Diwali in mid-November.

India now has the highest rate of daily increase in infections in the world.

India reported a record daily high of 97,570 cases on Sept. 11 and has added more than 1 million cases this month alone.

The growth in infections in India is faster than anywhere else in the world, as cases surge through urban and rural areas.

India has also been reporting the highest single-day caseload in the world for more than a month.

India's increasing coronavirus caseload made the Asian giant the world's second-worst-hit country behind the United States on Monday, as its efforts to head off economic disaster from the pandemic gain urgency.

The Health Ministry on Saturday also reported 1,089 deaths for a total of 69,561.