From coronavirus to CAA: Top searches on Google in 2020

Google has released its anticipated ‘Year in Search’ results to detail the top trending searches in India and around the globe this year. From fairly practical to downright absurd, the most popular searches on Google offer a pretty accurate snapshot of 2020 — a year unlike any other.

Let's take a look:

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.

The virus that causes COVID-19 is mainly transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or exhales. These droplets are too heavy to hang in the air, and quickly fall on floors or surfaces.

Binod was a YouTube comment that became a viral meme in India in August 2020. It originated from a YouTube comment by a user named Binod Tharu, who had not uploaded any videos and was only adding his first name in the comment section of YouTube videos. Binod memes started popping up, intending to troll him.

Plasma therapy is a medical procedure that uses the blood of a recovered patient to create antibodies on those infected individuals. Medically known as convalescent plasma therapy, this treatment uses antibodies found in the blood taken from a recovered Covid-19 patient. It is then used to treat those with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection to aid recovery.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.

The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) aims to fast-track citizenship for six persecuted minority communities -- Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians -- who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014 from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Colitis is a chronic digestive disease characterized by inflammation of the inner lining of the colon. Infection, loss of blood supply in the colon, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and invasion of the colon wall with collagen or lymphocytic white blood cells are all possible causes of an inflamed colon.

A solar eclipse occurs when a portion of the Earth is engulfed in a shadow cast by the Moon which fully or partially blocks sunlight. This occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned. Such alignment coincides with a new moon indicating the Moon is closest to the ecliptic plane.

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register of all Indian citizens whose creation is mandated by the 2003 amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

At present, only Assam has such a register.

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses spread mainly by rodents and can cause varied disease syndromes in people worldwide. Infection with any hantavirus can produce hantavirus disease in people. 

Nepotism is favoritism that is granted to relatives in various fields, including business, politics, entertainment, sports, religion and other activities.

It became one of the most searched words on Google after the death Bollywood celebrity Sushant Singh Rajput.