PokemonGo to Rio2016: The top five social media trends in 2016

A selection of events that played out big on social media in the year 2016

The year 2016 is nearly over and, like previous years, this one also saw some good, some bad and some strange stuff on social media.

It is not unusual for people to comment on the speed with which an entire year went by, that does not, however, mean that the year was not full of action. Here is a recap of some of the major topics that trended on social media this year to help refresh your memory:

#Demonetisation

If you thought #Brexit was a prank that went too far, wait till you hear about this one! It was November 8, 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on national television that the currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 would cease to be legal tender from midnight and the people of India would have 50 days in which to exchange or deposit these notes in banks. A stunned India has since been standing in queues at banks and ATMs, as the two demonetised currency denominations accounted for 86 per cent of the total cash in circulation in the county of 1.3 billion people. There is hardly any Indian who has not been affected by this decision and the topic has caught the fancy of social media users in one way or the other. As far as shelf lives of an event goes, #demonetisation or #noteban is right up there with #GeneralElections

Cartoonists also had a great time during these fifty days. Here are two samples 

#Brexit

To stay or leave? In June this year, British citizens voted to answer this question about Britain’s membership of the European Union. In an event that sent shockwaves around the world, 52 per cent of the voters who participated in the referendum, voted to leave the EU. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was in favour of a “stay”, resigned after the result was known. He was succeeded by Theresa May at the Prime Minister’s office. The aftershocks of this event are still being felt by the global economy. The entire process, it is believed, will take two years to finish.

While the world was in shock when the result was declared, social media reacted like, well, social media!

#PokemonGo

In July this year, Niantic released an augmented reality game for mobile phones and people all over the world left their homes in search of imaginary creatures called Pokémon. Gamers tried to locate and capture these creatures using their phone’s GPS. The game, a wild success the world over, saw more than 500 million downloads. It now holds five Guinness World Records, including one for grossing the highest revenue ($ 206.5 million) in the first month. 

So, did you catch some Pikachu or not?

#Rio2016

The year 2016 happened to be one of the 31st Olympic games in the city of Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Just like Pokemon Go, #Rio2016 was a global phenomenon that became one of the biggest trends this year. Some 11,000 athletes representing 205 countries participated in the games and for those 17 days in August when the games were on, social media forgot the world’s worries and watched these super athletes compete for glory. USA topped the tables with 46 gold medals. India had to wait for many days before it could win a medal. Sakshi Malik won a bronze in Women’s Freestyle Wrestling and two days later P V Sindhu bagged a silver medal in Women’s singles Badminton.

Breaking News & Latest News :

Cabinet passes ordinance; fine, jail for holding old notes

(Ordinance is to extinguish liability of govt and RBI on the demonetised high-denomination notes)

Soon, dental implants that kill bacteria, anchor to bone

(Mouth infections are currently regarded as the main reason why dental implants fail)

I-T notices to 50 car dealers; seeks details of customers post Nov 8

(Dept wants details of customers along with their addresses, car bought, invoiced cost, booking dates)

Budget: PM Modi calls for innovation; special focus on skills & tourism

(The government has said February 1 will be the date for presentation of future Union Budgets)

Didn't become PM to cut ribbons and light lamps: Narendra Modi

Raises OROP at Uttarakhand rally, says issue was pending for 40 years, previous govts misled forces

Addressing a public rally in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came down heavily on his critics, saying that he hadn't come to power merely to cut ribbons and light lamps.

The remarks came even as Modi inaugurated the the Chardham highway, which is expected to improve connectivity between the four pilgrimage centres of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The assembly polls in the state are scheduled to be held shortly.

In a fiery speech, the Prime Minister said that the people of Uttarakhand were no longer willing to wait for development, and that the inauguration of the Chardham is a tribute to those who lost their lives in the flash floods that hit the state in 2013.

Asserting that Uttarakhand's economy was centred around tourism, Modi said that if proper infrastructure was provided, the sector would bustle, and people from all over would flock to the state. He claimed that the Chardham project offered employment opportunities for state's citizens.

Reminding the people that the country had given the absolute majority to a single party for the first time in years, Modi nudged to them to decide whether they got him to power just to inaugurate small projects, or to deliver the goods. He reiterated his claim that he had been appointed a chowkidaar (sentry) of the people and that 'some people' -- indicating the Opposition -- had a huge problem with this.(more)

Breaking News :

No security in TN after Jayalalithaa's demise: Former Chief Secretary Rao

 

Nose wheel snag, pilot error may have led to Jet flight veering off runway

This Mexican teen's birthday invite got 1.3 mn people to say they'll attend

Withdrawal limits from banks, ATMs won't be lifted anytime soon

Black money window: FM Jaitley to meet industry chambers, CAs

Black money window: FM Jaitley to meet industry chambers, CAs

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet industry chambers, Chartered Accountants, and other professionals over the four-month window provided to holders of undeclared wealth to come clean.

According to reports, the Finance Minister will clear doubts about the four-month window provided to domestic blackmoney holders to pay their taxes and escape harsher penalties.

The Income Tax Department has already adopted a four-pronged strategy to ensure success of the scheme.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier warned the black money holders to take advantage of the scheme or face action.

This comes after the Prime Minister during his 'Mann ki Baat' address asked people to declare their undisclosed income by September 30, making it clear that this is the last chance to avoid problems that will follow after the window of opportunity closes.

"It will be better that you take advantage of the window provided and save yourself from the difficulties that you can face after September 30," he said.

Read more

Railways funds set to turn negative in FY17

Indian Railways is staring at an overall negative fund balance of Rs 6,095 crore next financial year despite the rail ministry’s claim that it would manage to successfully handle the impact of the Seventh Central Pay Commission recommendations on its financial health.Read More.

Ringing Bells starts refunding money to customers

Noida-based Ringing Bells, which has promised to sell smartphones for Rs 251 apiece, has started refunding money to customers due to negative speculation around its claim.

“There was a lot of negativity around us so we have decided to take money from customers only after delivering phones to them. We are refunding money to those who have paid for booking the phones and giving them an option of cash on delivery," Ringing Bells Director Mohit Goel said.

Start-ups bat for tax sops, investment incentives in Union Budget

The startup community, which has started facing funds crunch of late, is looking to the Union Budget 2016 for an easy tax regime, relaxation in investment norms and furtherincentives for innovation.

The country is home to over 18,000 startups, making it the third-largest in the world after the US and England.

“iSpirt has represented to the finance ministry that a small basket of tax sops merely will not be effective for the existing system which is riddled with several bottlenecks," co-founder of iSpirt Foundation Sharad Sharma told PTI. Read More.

Budget 2016: Fiscal Framework: Review medium-term fiscal stance

Fiscal hawks might not like it but the Budget 2016 has made a case for reviewing the medium-term fiscal framework in the upcoming Budget News. It, however, has argued that there were “good” arguments for both relaxing the fiscal deficit target and keeping it.

The framework mandates the government to cut its fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) next financial year and 3 per cent by 2017-18 from the targeted 3.9 per cent in the current financial year.

Budget 2016: Subsidies: Plug subsidy leaks to help fiscal consolidation

If lower tax rate is equivalent to subsidising, the National Democratic Alliance government is clearly targeting the 'well-off' segment of the population. Unlike the previous years, the Budget 2016 has dealt with the issue of subsidy by giving only a box on petroleum subsidies, while devoting a chapter with nine-and-a-half pages to 'Bounties for the Well-Off'.

Read more from our special coverage on "BUDGET 2016"

• Budget News
• Budget Photos
• Budget Discussion

Maternal and child health could be a top priority for the government, says Economic Survey

Understanding that relatively low-cost maternal and early-life health and nutrition programmes offer very high returns on investment, investing in these two sectors could become a top policy priority of the government, said the economic survey, Budget 2016.

“One can build clinics in villages or transfer money to pregnant mothers or build latrines, but how does one bring out the right usage of all this physical capital is the next task in front of the government,” stated the survey.Read More.

Markets likely to remain volatile, Railway Budget eyed

Stock markets are likely to see volatile trading sessions this week amid derivatives expiry, with all eyes set on two key events -- Railway Budget and Economic Surveyreport, say experts.
"Trend in global markets, crude oil prices, Economic Survey, reform measures announcement in upcoming Railway Budget and rupee-dollar movement will dictate trend on the bourses. Indices may remain volatile with positive bias ahead of expiry of February series derivative contract in the week ahead," said Gaurav Jain, Director, Hem Securities.

46 days in India and counting...

Frequent foreign visits and increased engagement with the Indian Diaspora have defined Prime Minister Narendra Modi foreign policy initiatives in the first 20 months of his tenure. But Modi is unlikely to be as keen on travelling overseas in 2016.

The PM, given his busy domestic schedule, is yet to travel outside India in 2016. His last foreign visit was to Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan (December 23-25, 2015). The PM, therefore, has spent an uninterrupted 46 days in India. This is the second longest unbroken stay of Modi in India since he took over as the PM on May 26, 2014.