2021 in review: Here's a list of Top 10 moments that made every Indian proud

Another year adjusting to the “new normal” is coming to an end. While 2021 gave rise to a new COVID variant, once again bringing the world to a standstill, it also gave India many moments to be proud of. From making history in the field of sports to bringing home the ‘Star of the Universe’, we had several glorious moments in the limelight this year. Here is a 2021 recap of times when we were proud to be Indian.

Neeraj Chopra's Gold

Team India gave its best-ever Olympics performance at Tokyo 2020 this year, bagging 7 medals and surpassing its previous medal tallies. With the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020-21 and its accompanying challenges, the accomplishments of Indian athletes at the Tokyo 2020 not only helped make the country proud but also ignited hope and aspiration for the future. 

At the centre of the historic achievement was India's star javelin thrower, Neeraj Chopra who ended the country's century-long wait of winning a Gold medal in athletics. The victory also helped India surpass its previous best haul of six medals achieved in the 2012 London Games.

India breaks 41-year hockey medal drought

Bringing back the lost glory of its national sport, the Indian Men's Hockey team successfully defeated Germany 5-4 in a sensational bronze medal match in the Tokyo Olympics, ending Indian hockey's 41-year medal drought. This was India's first hockey medal since 1980 Moscow. 

A notable mention also goes out to the women's hockey team who etched a historic campaign in Japan by qualifying for the semi-finals of the Olympics for the first time in the history of the quadrennial event. Indian women did the unthinkable when they defeated three-time champion Australia 1-0 to make their semifinals debut. 

PM Modi at UNGA

In September 2021, Prime Minister embarked on a historic 3-day visit to the United States for the Quad Leaders’ Summit and the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He was hosted at the White House by US President Joe Biden for their first in-person bilateral meeting ahead of the sessions. The maiden bilateral visit of PM Modi after Biden took charge, was dubbed by US lawmakers as a 'critical moment' for strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations.

As the first Head of the State to speak during the general debate on September 25, PM Modi nailed China and Pakistan's ulterior motives and cautioned against 'regressive thinking and extremism'. He warned that using terrorism as a political tool will 'backfire' on those practising it. The PM further invoked Acharya Chanakya, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, and Rabindranath Tagore in his speech and shared India’s strong record on climate action and its ambitious vision.

This was the first-in-person address of PM Modi in the UNGA after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rousing welcome he received swelled the chest of 1.3 billion Indians with pride. 

Indian Paralympians shine at Tokyo

India's achievements in Tokyo were not only limited to Olympics. The country also won its greatest haul of medals at the Paralympic Games, securing a total of 19 medals-- 5 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze medals. For the Paralympics, India had sent its biggest ever contingent of 54 para-athletes across as many as 9 sporting disciplines. The biggest star of the Indian campaign was arguably the 20-year-old Avani Lekhara, who won gold and bronze and became the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic medals.

India breaks highest single-day vaccination record

As India was making history across the world, it was also under the clutches of a highly potent variant of COVID-19- the Delta variant. The country began its vaccination drive on January 16, 2021, for healthcare workers which were later extended to people over 60 years of age and those above 45 with specific comorbidities. In the next phase from April, vaccinations for all above the age of 45 years was approved and finally, it was expanded for everyone above 18 years of age from May 1.

The initial pace of the vaccine drive led to several experts raising questions on whether India would ever be able to successfully inoculate its mammoth population. But even amidst the initial vaccine hesitancy and politics surrounding the jab, the nation proved everyone wrong. 

The first big milestone came when India decided to celebrate PM Modi's birthday in September with a landmark number of vaccinations. The country successfully achieved the feat by vaccinating a record-breaking number of 2.5 crore citizens on a single day on September 17.

India's vaccine century

India's next big achievement came a month later in October, when the nation's COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed the 100-crore number, marking a 'Vaccine Century'. There were celebrations across the world to honour the momentous occasion.

To commemorate the special day, India's largest khadi tricolour weighing around 1,400 kg, was hoisted from the Red Fort. Domestic airline SpiceJet unveiled a special livery to honour the contribution of frontline workers and corona warriors who helped India administer 100 crore vaccine doses. Three Boeing 737 aircraft bearing images of Prime Minister  and healthcare workers were inaugurated. As of December 22, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 138.96 Crore (1,38,95,90,670).

Rise of 2 more Indian-origin CEOs

2021 was also the year when Indians were taking over coveted leadership roles in the global forum. The first to mark his name was Indian-born Parag Agarwal, who was appointed as the CEO of the micro-blogging platform Twitter. The 37-year-old, an alumnus of IIT-Bombay, had joined Twitter in 2011 and worked his way up the ladder to becoming the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) by 2018. He was reportedly one of the 'first choices' of the company's co-founder Jack Dorsey in the line of succession. 

In another proud moment for India, Maharashtra-born Leena Nair joined the list of Indian CEOs of Multinational brands in December. Her appointment as the CEO of the luxury fashion house Chanel was unprecedented, given that Nair was an industry outsider from India and a longtime executive at Unilever. The 52-year-old was also Unilever's first female and youngest Chief Human Resources Officer, a position she left to join the iconic luxury group. 

India-made Covaxin gets WHO's approval

Kick-starting its vaccination drive in January, India gradually moved towards inoculating its massive population using two 'Made in India' vaccines- Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, and Serum Institute of India's (SII) Covishield. While SII's Covishield, followed the formula of the UK's Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Covaxin was homegrown in all sense, developed by Hyderabad-based scientist Dr Krishna Ella and his team. 

In October, the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) recommended Emergency Use Listing (EUL) status for Bharat Biotech COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which the global health body subsequently approved. The approval of indigenously-made Covaxin for emergency use once again established India's pharmaceutical prowess in the world.