Google has released the 'Year in Search' list that shows the top trends on Google Search over the last 12 months. The list, that is released every year for various countries, shows a noticeable shift in search trends in India.
Both in 2021 and 2022, “Covid vaccine near me” featured at the top of the list. However, this year, the most “near me” searches also included “swimming pool near me”, “water park near me”, “movies near me” and other topics related to travel and outings. The “near me” Google searches reflected how Indians reacted to the sharp decline in Covid-19 cases and relaxation of curbs in this year.
This year’s ‘near me’ search came in contrast to last year's searches that included “COVID test near me”, “Oxygen cylinder near me”, and “COVID hospital near me”.
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Notably, the Indian Premier League (IPL) topped the overall 2022 trending search results in India, and was also the most searched sports event in the country.
IPL was followed by CoWIN, a government web portal that facilitates registrations and appointments for COVID-19 vaccines and issues digital vaccine certificates.
The third most trending search topic in the country was the FIFA World Cup, which kicked off on November 20 in Qatar.
The fourth and fifth positions too were occupied by sports events namely the Asia Cup and ICC Men's T20 World Cup, respectively.
Bollywood blockbuster Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva secured the sixth rank and KGF: Chapter 2 was ranked ninth on the top search list.
In the category of most searched personalities in India in 2022, the names included suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. She was followed by President of India Droupadi Murmu, new United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Lalit Modi.