Rewind 2020: A year full of undesired surprises

2020 has been a year like no other. Over 100 million people in India lost their jobs by the end of March when a lockdown was imposed to combat COVID-19. Since then, many who managed to hold on to their jobs were forced to take pay cuts. CNBC-TV18’s Ritu Singh looks back at the year that was for India's job market and finds that employment rate has been falling since 2017.

2020 will also be remembered as a year when the India-China relations went through a hard reset. Embroiled in a border stand-off in eastern Ladakh since May, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in June, in what were the worst clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in 45 years. The Chinese side too suffered casualties. India has retaliated by banning Chinese apps and putting Chinese investments under greater scrutiny. Nine months since the border tensions began, lakhs of Indian and Chinese troops remain deployed at the LAC. China has refused to pull back troops from Indian positions and instead wants India to accept the new status quo. So, will the LAC standoff pan out in 2021 in a way that benefits India? CNBC-TV18’s Parikshit Luthra looks for some answers.

2020 also saw the centre cross swords with most state governments - and again, it was the fragile GST that was at the crux of the dispute. Things came to a head when the government threw its hands up and said the prolonged lockdown had left its coffers empty and the near-zero balance in the GST compensation fund meant states could not be compensated. CNBC-TV18's Timsy Jaipuria recounts the skirmish that ended with most states tapping out.

This year has taught us about how we could work from home over an extended period of time. And while the jury may still be out on just how effective work-from-home is, we bring you two contrasting stories from Chennai and Delhi, on how working from home worked out in two different ways for two different people. Here's the story of Neha and Abu, and their work-from-home journey.

GLOBAL MOVEMENTS

#BlackLivesMatter protests

Images of a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, until he died sparked protests from Amsterdam to Nairobi, exposing deeper grievances among demonstrators over strained race relations in their own countries.

Major demonstrations in solidarity with Floyd protesters erupted in multiple countries, including Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, and elsewhere. Protests were also held in several African and Asian countries.

The dying words of Floyd, "I can't breathe", became a rallying cry in a global outpouring of rage, drawing crowds by the thousands to the streets despite health hazards from the coronavirus pandemic.

Protests over demonisation of Muslims

Tens of thousands of Muslims in Pakistan, Indonesia, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Bangladesh, Gaza, Afghanistan, Iraq, India and elsewhere protested over French President Emmanuel Macron's vow to protect the right to draw caricatures insulting Prophet Muhammad.

The caricatures, republished by satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to mark the trial for the deadly 2015 attack against the publication, outraged Muslims across the world who consider depictions of the prophet blasphemous.

The protests flared further when Macron described Islam as a religion "in crisis" globally.

Climate protests

Due to the deadly Covid-19 pandemic sweeping 2020, climate protests and environmental campaigns were mostly held online, along with a large number of demonstrations protesting political and economic policies across the world.

Climate protests and strikes were held both in streets and on social media around the world in 2020 by stressing the threats to liveable planet and ecosystems, demanding from world leaders to address and take urgent actions on climate change and to keep their promises on global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The Fridays for Future movement took a lead in such demonstrations during 2020 while the 350.org and Sunrise movements, Greenpeace, and the Extinction Rebellion group were also involved in many actions over climate-related activities.

Covid-19 medics protest

Nurses in several countries demonstrated this year against their working conditions, low salaries, and complaining that they do not have adequate protective gear such as gloves and masks. to safely treat Covid-19 patients.

Doctors and medical staff were revered as heroes by the public during 2020. But they sought more than recognition and held protests to demand pay rises and better facilities to deal with Covid-19.

In many instances, medical staff took to the streets to demand more personal protective equipment as they tackled the contagious virus without sufficient masks and other gear.