As the year comes to a close, Google India has released the “Year in Search 2022” results, which look back at the events that captured India’s attention in 2022 across a wide range of topics.
In 2022, India recorded all-time high search moments in cricket and football, celebrated diversity in film and sport, and rediscovered great experiences abroad. It also asked questions about global and local news events, rising concepts in tech and finance, and helpful government programs.
Our ambitious films, compelling music, and engaging matches shaped global trends like never before. While we celebrated India’s 75th year of independence, Google said goodbye to several legends.
India’s passion for sport
The search highlighted India’s love of sports. The Indian Premier League was the most popular search in India, while the T20 World Cup and Asia Cup enquiries increased.
India topped sports trends globally, claiming all five top spots in the global trending match list. This year saw a surge in searches for the FIFA World Cup and the Indian Super League.
On the sporting events list, women’s sports moments also shone brightly—besides marking many firsts at the Commonwealth Games, including the Indian women’s lawn bowls team’s historic win, the Women’s Cricket World Cup made its debut on the top trending searches for sporting events. Kabaddi and tennis topped the list with the Pro Kabaddi League, the Australian Open, and Wimbledon.
Trending ‘Near me’ queries
People searched “near me” to explore entertainment, health, fitness, and more. The list included “swimming pools near me,” “water parks near me,” and “malls near me.” People searched for COVID-19 and polio vaccines.
Theatrical releases took a lead in 2022
Popular films across languages, particularly pan-Indian films, dominated cinema releases in 2022. Hindi film Part One of Brahmastra: Shiva and Kannada FilmKGF: Chapter 2 topped global trending movie searches.
In India, popular films included The Kashmir Files, Laal Singh Chaddha, and Drishyam 2, as well as Telugu films RRR and Pushpa: The Rise, Tamil film Vikram, and Kannada film Kantara. Thor: Love and Thunder was the only English film on the list.
Indian songs
Indian songs have also gotten people humming all over the world, with Chaand Baaliyan and Srivalli making the list of the top songs people hummed to search for.
People also searched for helpful government schemes
e-SHRAM card, a government scheme to provide social security benefits to unorganised workers, topped trending searches and “how to” enquiries. The Agneepath programme, a new government programme to enlist youth in the Indian army, topped “what is” searches.
Other “what is” searches on Search revealed people’s interests in news (NATO, PFI, Article 370), finance (NFT), technology (metaverse), and health (myositis).
‘How to’ trending queries
Trending “How to” questions revealed that consumers were actively looking for crucial information about immunizations, government paperwork, income tax filing, pregnancy, and other topics. People were also interested in learning how to play “wordle,” which involves guessing five-letter words every day.
Global and Local personalities
Politicians Nupur Sharma, Droupadi Murmu, and Rishi Sunak were well-known in India, as were entertainers Sushmita Sen, Abdu Rozik, and Amber Heard, and sports player Pravin Tambe.
News events
Lata Mangeshkar, cricketer Shane Warne, Queen Elizabeth, and artists Sidhu Moose Wala, KK, and Bappi Lahiri all died recently. While people followed the Russia-Ukraine war and UP elections, we also commemorated India’s 75th year of independence with “Har Ghar Tiranga.”
‘Recipe’ queries
The Recipe queries showed a variety of tasty foods. Paneer Pasanda, Malai Kofta, and Paneer Burji were popular Indian cuisines.
Sweet tooths were satisfied by the “Modak” and “Anarse” recipes. Comfort foods like “chicken soup,” “pancake,” and “Margherita pizza” were particularly popular, as were drinks like “Pornstar Martini” and “Sex on the Beach.”
You can find out more about what India was searching for at our Year in Search website.
Google India shared in its press release that:
If 2021 saw people taking their first guarded steps into a post-pandemic era, 2022 marked the year we bounced back stronger in many ways. In this journey, Search helped people find a world of information – be it questions on everyday interests, new passions, or more intricate topics.