The 'C' words dominated Indians mind in 2021, it would seem. As cricket, IPL in particular, and Covid, CoWIN specifically, were the top two terms that were searched by Indians on Google in 2021. As it happens, cricket beat Corona in India's search in the previous year, too.
This detail emerged in the annual ‘Year in Search 2021’ trends released by Google. The trends highlight all the standout moments across news, politics, sports, entertainment, and beyond in the country.
Aside from CoWIN, the top five searched trends included four sporting events. This could either reflect the popularity of sports in Indians' lives. Or it could also be read as an indicator that sports fans take to the internet and searches more readily than the rest of the country's population.
For the record, IPL was followed by CoWIN, ICC T20 World Cup, Euro Cup, Tokyo Olympics in the top trending query list on Google from India.
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No surprise: Neeraj Chopra on top
Among the news and current affairs events, the Google India list said that Indians were most interested in the Tokyo Olympics, updates on black fungus, Afghanistan news, West Bengal elections and the tropical cyclone Tauktae.
Among the personalities, India's first ever gold medal winning athlete in track and field at the Olympics Neeraj Chopra busted the charts. He was followed by the likes of Aryan Khan, Shehnaaz Gill, Raj Kundra and Elon Musk.
The movies that were searched for the most in the country included Jai Bhim, Shershaah, Radhe, Bell Bottom and Eternals.
Interestingly, Google Global Trending list was also dominated by cricket. Specifically, Indian cricket. The top searched trends globally were all sporting events, with Indian cricket occupying top three slots. Australia vs India, India vs England, IPL, NBA and Euro 2021 was the precise standing.
Covid dominates 'How to' and Near me' searches
Amid the massive pandemic crisis, the ‘How to’ section dominated with queries like ‘How to increase oxygen level’, ‘How to make oxygen at home’ and ‘How to register for Covid vaccine’.
In the ‘Near me’ searches this year, Covid-19 vaccine, Covid-19 test,
Food delivery, Oxygen cylinder and Covid hospital made up the top 5 slots.
With lockdowns, searches and queries for food deliveries, tiffin services and takeout restaurants also surged.
