Sporting events, CoWIN dominate India’s Google searches in 2022

Top four trending searches for the year were sporting events, with the Indian Premier League in top position. The government’s vaccination registration portal CoWIN was the second most Googled term for 2022, reflecting the emergence of the country from the pandemic.

The ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar was the third most Googled term in India this year, followed by ‘Asia Cup’ and the recently concluded men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.

According to Google, sporting events dominated searches not only in India but around the globe. India, though, dominated the search for sports matches globally. ‘India vs England’ was the most searched match on Google, according to the data.

The central government’s controversial Agneepath Scheme was the top search under the ‘what is’ category. The announcement of the Agneepath Scheme saw protests around the country. The ongoing war in Ukraine also had an impact on what Indians searched for on Google, with NATO being the second most searched term in the ‘what is’ category.

Discover the stories of your interest

NFTs, which were the talk of the town until earlier this year, made it to the number three spot in ‘what is’ category.

‘Brahmastra: Shiva Part 1’, was the most searched movie of the year, followed by Kannada blockbuster ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ at number two. ‘The Kashmir Files’ was the third most searched movie in India, followed by another regional hit RRR. Critically acclaimed Kannada hit ‘Kantara’ was at number five.

The most searched personality in India this year was controversial BJP leader Nupur Sharma. She was followed by India’s new President Droupadi Murmu, and Rishi Sunak, the Indian-origin prime minister of the UK.