India on Sunday registered a record new 78,761 coronavirus cases, the highest single-day spike in the world since the pandemic began, just as the government began easing restrictions to help the battered economy.

The grim milestone comes at a time when several Indian states are imposing focused lockdowns to stem the outbreak amid frantic efforts by local governments to protect the economy.

India has largely lifted its nationwide lockdown, and the virus has been spreading at a significant rate, prompting several big cities to impose partial lockdowns.

The true toll of the pandemic is believed to be significantly higher, in part because of limited testing and mild cases that have been missed.

India has the world's fourth-biggest outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19, below only the United States, Brazil and Russia in confirmed infections.