Year in Search: Coronavirus Takes the Second Spot as Indians Reflect their Love for Cricket

* Joe Biden and Arnab Goswami feature among the top trending personalities 

* Dil Bechara and Soorarai Pottru among top trending movies of 2020

* Money Heist and 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story among the top trending web series

Looking back at the moments that captured India’s attention in 2020, Google India announced the 'Year in Search' results today. From the global pandemic to the history-making US elections, the Year in Search continues to recapitulate the top search trends, offering a unique perspective to the questions internet users have asked on Google Search.

Trending search terms this year were dominated by the obvious concern around the global pandemic, with a surge in questions about Coronavirus. While the excitement around the Indian Premier League made it the top trending query, the US elections triggered significant search activity along with Bihar elections and Delhi elections. US President-elect Joe Biden emerged as one of the top trending personalities, along with TV journalist Arnab Goswami. Interestingly, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM Kisan Scheme) that provides monetary support to farmers made it to the top trending chart, as netizens looked for latest news, information, and updates.

Following Joe Biden and Arnab Goswami, was Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor, who made it to the most searched personalities this year. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bacchan, actress Kangana Ranaut, Rhea Chakraborty, and Ankita Lokhande also featured in the trending personalities. Other international personalities that made it to the list include North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un, Afghan cricketing sensation Rashid Khan and the India-origin US Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris.

Dil Bechara emerged as the top trending movie of 2020, followed by Tamil action-drama Soorarai Pottru. Bollywood biopics like Tanhaji, Shakuntala Devi, and Gunjan Saxena captured the top five spots. While Bollywood movies Laxmii, Baaghi 3, Gulabo Sitabo dominated the list, the only Hollywood movie to make it to the list was Extraction. Due in large part to the intermittent lockdowns, queries on Web Series surged this year with Money Heist topping the list, followed by Indian entries like Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, Bigg Boss 14 and Mirzapur 2.

Among the major news events, the Indian Premier League, Coronavirus and US elections triggered noteworthy search activity, as users looked for latest updates and election results. Other important news events included the frequent Lockdowns, and the Locust swarm attack. International news events like the Beirut explosion and Bushfires in Australia also made it to the list.

The most interesting Search terms were centered around 'How to' and 'What is' lists, reflecting society's move to work from home and dealing with the pandemic. 'How to make paneer?' and 'How to increase immunity?' topped the list, followed by the distinctive 'How to make dalgona coffee.' 'What is' queries included the baffling 'What is binod?', followed by many virus-related queries such as 'What is plasma therapy?' and 'What is hantavirus?'.

With the unprecedented lockdown, local searches surged with 'Near me' queries, which was dominated by 'Food shelters near me' followed by 'COVID test near me.' With the majority of the population remotely working, searches for 'Broadband connection near me' and 'Laptop shop near me' figured prominently this year.

View the complete 2020 India-specific lists and global trends in detail; and check out all the global top-ten lists across pop culture, sports, music, politics, news, from over 75 countries.  Also, do check out the annual Year in Search video.