New Delhi: India reported over 72,330 Covid-19 cases and 459 deaths in the 24 hours that have pushed the infection tally to 1,22,21,665 and death toll to 1,62,927, the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.Of the total daily cases, 39,544 were from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh recorded its highest ever count, with 4,563 cases, Karnataka also reported over 4,000 cases.With a steady increase for the 22nd day in a row, the active caseload in the country is 5,84,055 comprising 4.78 per cent of the total infections while 1,14,74,683 people have recovered from disease so far. The recovery rate has further dropped to 93.89 per cent, the data stated. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,14,74,683. The case fatality rate has further has dropped to 1.33 per cent.From today onwards, India has opened up its vaccination drive for all those above the age of 45, a key group which is at the highest risk — 90 per cent of Covid-19 deaths in India have been in the category of those above the age of 45.According to the ICMR, 24,47,98,621 samples have been tested up to March 31 with 11,25,681 samples being tested on Wednesday.