Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said states should hold a 'Tika Utsav' (vaccine festival) from April 11 to April 14 to ensure optimum utilisation of their Covid-19 vaccination capability.

"Can we celebrate Tika Utsav for 3 days? During this time, we should vaccinate as many eligible people as possible and target zero vaccine wastage" he said at a meeting with all chief ministers over the coronavirus situation.

Chairing a meeting with chief ministers over the COVID-19 situation in the country, he said many states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Punjab had crossed the peak of the first wave in terms of COVID-19 cases and it was a matter of serious concern.

"There is a need to improve the governance system. I understand that because of the one-year battle, the system can experience tiredness and there can be laxity, but we must tighten it for 2-3 weeks and strengthen the governance," he said.

In a veiled dig at states such as Maharashtra which demanded lowering of the age criteria for vaccination, the PM opined that his government's approach was similar to developed countries.

Moreover, he added that the Union government had to prioritise certain groups of the population in accordance with the availability of vaccine doses. While a total of 8,09,31,289 persons have been inoculated in Maharashtra so far, 1,08,77,932 of them have received the second dose of the vaccine too. 

PM Modi also appealed to the youth of the country to help people above 45 to get vaccinated. Our emphasis should now be on 'test, track, treat, COVID appropriate behaviour and COVID management, he said.

India on Thursday reported 1.26 lakh coronavirus cases - its highest ever single-day figure.

Experts say new coronavirus variants and people's carelessness about the anti-Covid rules have brought on the second wave of infections.