10 Most Popular Hindi Newspapers in India (2026)

More Indians read a Hindi newspaper than a newspaper in any other language. From Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, the morning Hindi paper still shapes what families, dealers, officials and local businesses talk about, and its website carries the same story to readers far beyond the print edition.

This list ranks the leading Hindi-language dailies published in India. The first six are ranked by the most recent full Indian Readership Survey (IRS 2019 Q4, MRUC), measured as average issue readership across India. The other four have no comparable figure we could use, so we have ordered them by footprint and influence. For each paper you will find the basics, what it is known for, and how it fits a PR plan. If you are planning coverage, our Hindi press release distribution page explains how we write for and distribute to these desks.

The list at a glance

1. Dainik Jagranदैनिक जागरण

Dainik Jagran was founded by Puran Chandra Gupta in Jhansi in 1942 and launched its Kanpur edition in 1947. It is published from Kanpur by the listed Jagran Prakashan, with editions across Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The group also owns Naidunia, Punjabi Jagran and the Mumbai daily Mid-Day.

In IRS 2019 Q4 it was the most-read daily in India in any language, with an average issue readership of about 16.9 million and a total readership of about 68.7 million.

2. Dainik Bhaskarदैनिक भास्कर

Dainik Bhaskar is the flagship of DB Corp, the Bhopal-based group that dates from 1958 and also publishes Divya Bhaskar in Gujarati and Divya Marathi in Marathi. Dainik Bhaskar publishes some 45 editions across 11 states.

IRS 2019 Q4 placed it second among Hindi dailies, with an average issue readership of about 15.6 million and total readership of about 52.4 million. In ABC circulation figures for July to December 2022 it was the largest Hindi daily.

3. Hindustanहिन्दुस्तान

Hindustan was founded in 1936 by Madan Mohan Malaviya and is the Hindi sister of the Hindustan Times. It is published by Hindustan Media Ventures, spun off from HT Media in 2009, and runs 21 editions across Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

In IRS 2019 Q4 it was third among Hindi dailies, with an average issue readership of about 13.2 million and total readership of about 49.9 million.

4. Amar Ujalaअमर उजाला

Amar Ujala was founded in Agra in 1948 by Dori Lal Agarwal and Murari Lal Maheshwari and is now headquartered in Noida. It publishes 22 editions across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi NCR, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir.

IRS 2019 Q4 recorded an average issue readership of about 9.7 million and total readership of about 44.2 million, fourth among Hindi dailies.

5. Rajasthan Patrikaराजस्थान पत्रिका

Rajasthan Patrika was founded in 1956 by the journalist Karpoor Chandra Kulish and is published from Jaipur, with editions across Rajasthan. Beyond the state it publishes as Patrika in Madhya Pradesh, and has editions in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi.

IRS 2019 Q4 recorded an average issue readership of about 5.9 million, fifth among Hindi dailies.

6. Prabhat Khabarप्रभात खबर

Prabhat Khabar was launched in Ranchi in 1984, when it was still part of Bihar, and has covered Jharkhand since before the state was formed in 2000. It publishes across Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal, including Kolkata.

IRS 2019 Q4 recorded an average issue readership of about 2.9 million, sixth among Hindi dailies.

7. Punjab Kesariपंजाब केसरी

Punjab Kesari was founded in 1965 by Lala Jagat Narain and is published from Jalandhar by the Hind Samachar group, which also publishes the Punjabi daily Jag Bani. The Delhi edition is run separately, by a different company within the family.

It prints from centres in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. We have not used an IRS figure for Punjab Kesari.

8. Navbharat Timesनवभारत टाइम्स

Navbharat Times is the Times Group's Hindi daily, published from New Delhi since 1947, with editions in Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow. It is published by Bennett, Coleman & Co, the company behind The Times of India.

It is read for city news, politics and civic coverage, above all in Delhi NCR. We have not used an IRS figure for Navbharat Times.

9. Naiduniaनईदुनिया

Naidunia is an Indore daily with a history going back to the late 1940s and a long reputation in Madhya Pradesh journalism. Jagran Prakashan acquired it in 2012.

At the time of the acquisition it published six editions: Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, and Raipur and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. We have not used an IRS figure for Naidunia.

10. Haribhoomiहरिभूमि

Haribhoomi began in 1996 as a weekly and became a daily from Rohtak in 1997. It expanded to Delhi NCR in 1998 and into Chhattisgarh, with Bilaspur in 2001 and Raipur in 2002, and later into Madhya Pradesh through Jabalpur and Bhopal.

Its founding proprietor is Abhimanyu Sindhu. We have not used an IRS figure for Haribhoomi.

Hindi news on TV and online

Hindi news reaches far beyond print. National channels such as Aaj Tak, ABP News, Zee News, India TV, News18 India and NDTV India run large Hindi news sites, and the newspapers' own sites (jagran.com, bhaskar.com, livehindustan.com and amarujala.com among them) reach readers well beyond their print editions.

PTI's Hindi service, Bhasha, launched in 1986, carries Hindi copy to newsrooms across the belt. It is one reason a natively written Hindi release travels further than a translated one.

How we ranked these newspapers

Readership is the fairest single measure of a newspaper's reach, and the Indian Readership Survey is the industry standard. The last full round, IRS 2019 Q4 (published by MRUC in 2020), places six Hindi dailies at the top on average issue readership across India: Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan, Amar Ujala, Rajasthan Patrika and Prabhat Khabar. Those are our first six.

Punjab Kesari, Navbharat Times, Naidunia and Haribhoomi are ordered by footprint and influence, because we did not find a comparable published figure for all four. Other Hindi dailies worth knowing include Jansatta, Dainik Navajyoti, Lokmat Samachar and Dainik Tribune. We have not ranked on circulation, because audited figures for several titles swing widely between periods.

How to get coverage in Hindi newspapers

Three things decide whether a Hindi desk runs a story. The first is the city: Hindi dailies are built on city and district editions, so a story needs a place its readers know. The second is language: a release written in Hindi by a native writer reads as news, while a translation reads as an advertisement. The third is scope: a national Hindi story and a Lucknow story go to different desks.

For announcements on a fixed date, Hindi press release distribution and clearly labelled sponsored formats are dependable; editorial coverage is the desk's decision, and media relations is how we earn it. For campaigns across several states, see our regional PR distribution options.

Frequently asked questions