Bitcoin, Jiophone, Aadhaar-PAN linking among top 'how to' searches in India this year: Google

Bahubali 2, the fictional drama by SS Rajamouli, was the most searched term on Google this year. The movie, second in the series of Bahubali films, was searched for across India but generated the most interest in Telangana. It was most searched in the month of April and May.

Not unlike last year, bollywood and cricket occupied the top spots in search volume in India. Indian Premier League was the second most searched term on Google. This was followed by ‘live cricket score’ at the third position, Amir Khan starrer Dangal at fourth and feature film based on Chetan Bhagat’s book by the same name, Half Girlfriend on the fifth position.

Most searched entertainers

India’s fascination with Sunny Leone is far from over. Like previous few years, the actress topped the charts for most searched entertainers. Big Boss 11 contestant Arshi Khan was the second most searched celebrity on Google.

Another Big Boss contestant Sapna Choudhary, singer and YouTube personality Vidya Vox and cricketer Dhoni’s biopic star Disha Patani were other entertainers which were in top five.

How to…

The government’s enthusiasm and urgency over Aadhaar was reflected in search volume and ‘How to link Aadhaar with PAN card’ topped the search queries with ‘How to…’ prefix. Jio phone and bitcoin frenzy also caught up with the Indians as ‘How to book Jio phone’ and ‘How to buy bitcoin in India’ were the next two most searched terms.

What is…

Goods and Services Tax (GST) was the most sought-after topic for explanation for Indians, according to Google. ‘What is GST’ was the most explanatory search term in the past year. The unified tax regime was introduced in July.

The soaring prices of bitcoin also generated a renewed interest in the cryptocurrency and people wanted to know what it is. ‘What is bitcoin’ was the second most sought-after explanation from Google.

Global search trends

Hurricane Irma, iPhone 8 and iPhone X were three most searched terms, globally, in 2017. Meghan Markle and Kevin Spacey were two most searched actors and Hurricane Irma and bitcoin topped in news search charts.

Uttar Pradesh election was the fourth most searched election globally. The top three were French election, German federal election and UK election.

Google created a nostalgic video featuring the top trends of 2017.

You can see all trending search queries for every country here.
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