India crosses 10 mn Covid-19 cases: Here's how pandemic unfolded in 2020

India's first case was recorded in January 2020, although the first case of COVID-19 globally had been reported in China in December 2019. But the nation woke up to the pandemic the moment Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24. The entire nation--including its industries, trains, planes, public transport, schools, banks, markets and offices, in short, life--came to a standstill.

As the year draws to a close, the pandemic is still raging though promising vaccines have kindled hopes for a better 2021. Currently, the world has recorded more than 75 million cases of COVID-19 and over 1.6