Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu, 21, from Punjab, representing India at the 70th Miss Universe 2021, held in Eilat, Israel, brought home the crown. India won the title, 21 years after Lara Dutta was crowned the Miss Universe in 2000. Sushmita Sen won the Miss Universe title for the first time in 1994 for India. Harnaaz was applauded by the judges and the audience for her motto of 'working for nature' instead of 'rhetoric'.

In the final, Harnaaz defeated the contestants of Paraguay and South Africa to win the title. Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza, crowned the Miss Universe 2021.  The 70th Miss Universe pageant was attended by aspirants from 80 countries. The ceremonies were held under strict covid guidelines.

Harnaaz entered the modeling scene in 2017. She is a graduate student in Public Administration and the winner of 2019 Miss India pageant. She has also acted in two Punjabi films.

Harnaaz faced two questions during the pageant. "What message is being given to women today to overcome stress," was the first question.  She answered "Every woman needs to learn to believe in herself. Each person is unique. So avoid comparisons with others. Let's talk about the more important things that are happening in the world. We need to understand that we are the only ones who can speak for us. Be your own voice. I believed in myself. That's why we are here today."

The second question about climate change was, "Criticism is mounting that climate change is a hoax. What is your reaction?" Harnaaz's reponded that she wanted to work for nature rather than rhetoric, and that she would do whatever she could.