Virat Kohli smashes it as Most Searched Sportsperson; Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur enter list

Yahoo today announced the 2017 Year in Review (YIR) for India. YIR is a look at the top newsmakers and happenings which caught the interest of Internet users in India, and were trending in 2017. Ten years ago, we launched this review based on users’ daily search habits and an editorial selection of what they read, recommended and shared most on Yahoo. Over the last decade, YIR has chronicled the all-consuming passions and shifting preferences of India’s exploding Internet audience.

Politics, cricket and entertainment, stirred in with controversy, captured the Indian Internet user’s attention in 2017. Master strategist Amit Shah, who orchestrated the BJP’s victory in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur in 2017 – altering India’s political landscape – was named YIR’s Personality of the Year 2017.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Yahoo India’s Most Searched Personality in 2017, on the back of his government’s news-worthy reforms. Honeypreet Insan’s controversial life and Kapil Sharma’s public fallouts snagged them both spots, with Virat Kohli and Donald Trump rounding off the line-up of Yahoo India’s 10 Most Searched Personalities in 2017.  Sunny Leone continued her reign as Yahoo India’s Most Searched Female Celebrity, while fans of actor Vinod Khanna, who passed away, made their icon this year’s Most Searched Male Celebrity.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made a self-assured entry into the YIR Political Newsmakers list, finding his footing alongside seasoned leaders like Prime Minister Modi, and Arun Jaitley. His growing political clout took Adityanath out of his home state and into the national spotlight. Nirmala Sitharaman also stormed into this list when she was named Defence Minister of India, only the second woman to hold this post since Indira Gandhi. President Ram Nath Kovind, Rahul Gandhi, Amit Shah and Sushma Swaraj were other prominent Political Newsmakers of 2017.

Meanwhile, Yahoo India’s Most Searched Politicians in 2017 predictably included Indian leaders like Modi, Arvind Kejriwal and Sasikala, with one notable overseas import. Yahoo users remained riveted by US President Trump, who refused to budge from this all-desi line up, after his thunderous entry into the Most Searched Politicians list last year.

Away from the celebrities and public figures they follow, Yahoo India users revealed what was top of mind in their everyday lives – Aadhaar was No. 1 on the list of Most Searched Newsy terms of 2017. Close on its heels was the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the major reform in India’s indirect taxation system. GST was also the Top Business Story That Shook the Nation. Other stories that made it to this list were India’s giant leap up 30 places in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking, and Moody’s Investor Services’ first sovereign rating upgrade for India in 14 years.

In 2016, Indian sportswomen and Olympians PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar wrested attention from Cricket to rule as top newsmakers. This year, while Sindhu continued her stellar run online, Virat Kohli smashed his way right back to the top of Yahoo’s India’s Most Searched Sportspeople. He was joined by his super-charged counterparts from women’s cricket, Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur. Their popularity skyrocketed after the Indian Women’s Cricket Team had an epic run, reaching the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

If you’re trend-spotting, you might know that small is now the new big. 2017 was the year of the Celebrity baby. Bollywood A-listers and sportspersons who welcomed new additions to their families, saw them become instant stars online. It caused a flurry online when Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar announced his twins to the world, after taking the unconventional route of becoming a single father through surrogacy. Yahoo users embraced the news and avidly followed the progress of Yash and Roohi Johar. They also celebrated the arrival of Nidhyana Jadeja alongside her parents, Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja and wife Reeva Solanki.  Inaaya Naumi Kemmu – Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu daughter and Zack Lalvani – Lisa Haydon and Dino Lalvani’s son, were among the other news-grabbing tots.

Yahoo India users also stayed glued to their favorite stylish Indians. Relative newbies on this list like Mithali Raj, Jhanvi Kapoor, Athiya Shetty and Mira Rajput, held their own alongside style icons like Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Malaika Arora, Alia Bhatt, Virat Kohli and Prime Minister Modi. This year’s Best dressed Male and Female celebrities, Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapoor, consistently rocked the red carpet. Both crafted distinctive looks that were keenly followed by Yahoo India users.

What else sparked users’ interest in 2017?  See Year in Review: 2017 for the complete lowdown on 2017’s biggest moments for online India