After the long leap of almost two years, the success of the developed vaccines for Covid-19 ended the mentally draining online era of interaction. Sorry, WFH community, we know it was the saviour from tedious and long office hours, but still exhausting times. As the world was recuperating from the aftereffect of the global pandemic, the year saw the lifting up of several restrictions and the reopening of institutions, bringing us back to the conventional forms of social interactions in society. The school and college campuses blossomed with students after they redeemed the pandemic-gifted voucher to an indefinite amusement.
This year saw not just the promulgation but also the implementation of the idea of living with the virus. But the virus of human greed could not be contained when Russia launched an attack on Ukraine. As a result of Russian aggression, the rest of the world suffered price shocks, supply disruptions, high inflation, and significant migration across borders. Fears of a looming recession prompted several companies, including renowned tech giants, to lay off thousands of employees. As attention focused on the Russia-Ukraine standoff, China-US relations turned sour after the US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan. And, although they did outshine us on the cricketing pitch, Sri Lanka and Pakistan were lackluster on the economic front and suffered a severe political crisis this year.
After much melodrama, the people of Great Britain bestowed its highest elected office to the Indian-origin candidate Rishi Sunak; the first Prime Minister of colour. Needless to say, Kohinoor trended again. But on a sad note, the longest-serving monarch of the United Kingdom – Queen Elizabeth II, passed away this year after her reign of seven decades.
From an Indian perspective, there was no drop in political mileage. Amar Jawan Jyoti, which was continuously burning for the last fifty years at India Gate in commemoration of the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, was merged with the eternal flame at National War Memorial as a part of the ongoing Central Vista Redevelopment Project. There were protests against the Agnipath Scheme announced by the Government of India. Droupadi Murmu was sworn in as the 15th President of India on July 25, from being the first girl in her village to go to college to now being the nation’s first tribal President. A true inspiration for all. Another inspirational moment arrived when India took over the presidency of G20 from Indonesia for next year’s summit.
Defence is one of the significant spending sectors in the Indian economy. India ranked 4th in the military forces, as per reports. Lt. General Anil Chauhan was appointed the Chief of the Indian Army on 28th September 2022. The pride of the nation, ISRO, and DRDO had also seen many developments this year. Vikram-S rocket, India’s first rocket launch partnered with a private space organization launched from Sriharikota. A successful flight test for Agni-V was conducted this year.
40+ companies have been listed on NSE and BSE. Russia- Ukraine conflict caused the dropping in Sensex to 50921 points and nifty to 15200, yet Sensex reached its all-time high of 63500 and crossed 18800 points. The average inflation rate was recorded at 6.8% in 2022. Central Banks had been increasing the repo rate to control inflation. According to IMF, World Bank, and many other renowned economists, a global recession is inevitable. However, the possibility that India will face any recession in 2023 is low, as per the reports.
Contrary to ideological battles, the sporting field united people across the globe. Argentina broke its 36 years long hiatus by winning the FIFA World Cup. Lionel Messi broke records as well as the internet with his phenomenal performance, proving himself to be one of the greatest of all time while making every football fan sentimental with the Qatar final being his last appearance in a World Cup match. Virat Kohli, the poster boy of Indian cricket, produced innings to be remembered against Pakistan in the ICC T20 Worldcup and also became its top scorer.
Following the lockdown, our college, BIT Sindri, was reopened in 2022. The hostel allotment announcement gave the students a ray of hope after the dreadful pause. The courses and the lanes were clogged again, and friends who had been separated for a long time were reunited at the hostels. The BIT functioning bodies were reactivated. By the grace of God, everything proceeded well and with the same zeal.
Action was also the theme for most bollywood movies. Bollywood produced films that heavily incorporated VFX and animation. Alongside the presence of RRR and KGF 2’s craze, everyone grooved on Puspa’s Srivalli, experiencing the charm of southern cinema transcending regional barriers. The music fraternity bid goodbye to the Queen of Melody, Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, and the disco man, Bappi Lahiri. Two legends of the industry who have immortalised themselves in our hearts through their timeless compositions.
These were the short anamnesis of the happenings of the year 2022. We have seen hardships while also enjoying some of the best moments of our life which took place this year. Time is just like sand in a tight grip, it slips and stops for no one. Despite hundreds of challenges and numerous hurdles, we still made our way through. As we dive into 2023, we must remember that even though we might have fallen several times, we learned, grew stronger, and got up with more determination each time.
Moving towards a new start and manifesting better, let us make some resolutions and work towards improving ourselves.
“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us”
– Hal Borland
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!
SARJANA 