Last checked at 
* India reports 161,736 new infections, total at 13.7 mln
* Deaths rise by 879
* India has administered more than 106 mln vaccine doses
(Adds details on India's richest state imposing restrictions)
By Alasdair Pal and Krishna N. Das
NEW DELHI, April 13 (Reuters) - India on Tuesday said it
will fast-track emergency approvals for COVID-19 vaccines
authorised by Western countries and Japan, paving the way for
possible imports of Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson,
and Moderna shots.
The move, which will exempt companies from carrying out
local safety trials for their vaccines, follows the world's
biggest surge in cases in the country this month.
Since April 2, India has reported the highest daily tallies
of infections. It reported 161,736 cases on Tuesday, taking the
total to 13.7 million, while deaths rose by 879 to 171,058.
On Tuesday, India's richest state Maharashtra, which
accounts for about a quarter of the country's cases, said it
would impose stringent restrictions from Wednesday to try to
contain the spread.
India has the biggest global vaccine manufacturing capacity
and had exported tens of millions of doses before its own demand
skyrocketed and led to a shortage in some states.
Dozens of poor countries have relied on Indian exports to
run their inoculation drives.
The health ministry said vaccines authorised by the World
Health Organization or authorities in the United States, Europe,
Britain and Japan could be granted emergency use approval in
India.
"If any of these regulators have approved a vaccine, the
vaccine is now ready to be brought into the country for use,
manufacture and fill-and-finish," Vinod Kumar Paul, a senior
government health official, told a news conference.
"We hope and we invite the vaccine makers such as Pfizer,
Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and others ... to be ready to come to
India as early as possible."
Pfizer said it would work towards bringing its vaccine to
India after withdrawing its application in February.
U.S. federal health agencies on Tuesday recommended pausing
use of the J&J shot after six women under age 50 developed rare
blood clots after receiving it.
India has administered more than 108 million vaccine doses,
sold more than 54.6 million vaccine doses abroad and gifted more
than 10 million to partner countries.
It is currently using the AstraZeneca shot and a
homegrown vaccine for its own immunisation drive, and this week
approved Russia's Sputnik V shot for emergency use.
RALLIES, RELIGIOUS GATHERINGS
The jump in India's infections, for which Health Minister
Harsh Vardhan acknowledged https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-india-surge-idUSKBN2BV129
widespread failure to heed curbs on movement and social
interaction, has prompted calls for the government to cancel
huge public events.
Still, hundreds of thousands of devout Hindus are set to
bathe in the Ganges river on Wednesday, the third key day of the
weeks-long Kumbh Mela - or pitcher festival.
Nearly a million bathed in the Ganges on Monday in the
belief that its waters would wash away their sins. More than 100
tested positive for COVID-19 in random testing of around 18,000
attendees, media said.
Similar concerns of a spike in cases were sparked by mass
election rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party and
opposition groups during polls in four states and one federally
run region.
At one rally in the eastern state of West Bengal, a key
political prize, Home Minister Amit Shah posted Twitter pictures
of meetings with crowds of supporters while unmasked.
DEADLY SPREAD
The second wave of infections, which began in India's major
cities, is increasingly spreading into the hinterland, where
healthcare facilities are often rudimentary.
In Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state known for its
large tribal population, the main government hospital's morgue
was struggling to keep up, said joint director Dr Vineet Jain.
"All oxygenated and ICU beds are full in our set-up," he
told Reuters.
"Around 50 dead bodies are laying, we have a shortage of
space. Some private hospitals do not have space to keep the dead
bodies so they also send the bodies to us."
India is currently reporting around double the daily cases
of the United States and Brazil, the two other worst affected
countries, though its daily death toll is lower.
India's total infections rank after only the United States,
having overtaken Brazil on Monday.
(Global vaccination tracker: https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/vaccination-rollout-and-access/)
(Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/)
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Alasdair Pal in New Delhi and
Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar; Editing by Nick Macfie, Ana
Nicolaci da Costa and John Stonestreet)
