Magazines have been in India for over a century and have been a main source of entertainment while also covering national, regional, state and city-scope topics. They are periodical publications containing many articles and illustrations on different topics and are of different types such as consumer magazines, trade magazines and organisation magazines.
Besides this, there are also many different types of magazines that are published such as covering topics such as general news, cooking, art, fashion, tech, health, children’s magazines, business, travel, cultural, rider and driver topics, pets, sports, entertainment and wild magazines.
The very first publication was known as the German publication known as Erbauliche Monaths Unteretungene ( Editing Monthly Discussions) – a literary and philosophical publication which was published in 1663. However, in India, the first publications were published by the British and the earliest known to be published was The Oriental Magazine/ Calcutta Amusement. This was followed by a number of short-lived missionary publications and the first periodical that was founded and edited by an Indian was the Hindustan Review which began in the 1900s. Saraswati is also known to be one of the earliest Hindi monthly magazines which were founded by Chintamani Ghosh in 1900.
Currently, there are a number of magazines which are known to be well-known across the world such as The New York Times Magazine, The Vogue India, T Magazine, Observer Design, People Magazine, Dazed China, Forbes, WSJ Magazine, Bloomberg Markets Magazine, Cosmopolitan and many others.
Magazines are also gaining popularity online with topics ranging from various topics. Magazines are also interestingly known to have existed and also shared using floppy disks at one point in time. This was at the time when the internet was just born!
Some of the well-known and popular magazines that exist in India currently include:
1) Outlook:
Outlook is one of India’s leading weekly news magazines and started in 1995. Many different topics are covered in this magazine such as current affairs, cinema, sports, politics, news, and stories of general interest. It is available both in English and Hindi. This magazine was successful in breaking a virtual India Today monopoly in the newsmagazine segment. In the early nineties, this magazine faced stiff competition from magazines such as India Today and every major newspaper publication.
2) India Today English:
Published by Living Media India Limited, India Today is the most widely circulated magazine in India. A weekly news magazine, this magazine has a readership of close to 15.9 million. In 2014, India Today also happened to launch a new online opinion-oriented site known as The DailyO. This magazine is well appreciated for its unbiased and accurate reporting on India’s development in various subjects. However, it focuses mainly on news, politics and current affairs. It is available in both Hindi and English.
3) Reader’s Digest Magazine:
An American general interest magazine, Reader’s Digest has been the world’s biggest-selling magazine for over nine decades. It is also India’s largest-selling magazine in English. Not only is this magazine available in print, but it is also published in braille, audio and digital. In 2005 it had a slogan known as American in your Pocket which was later changed to Life well shared in 2008. It has 49 international editions and is available in 21 different languages. It is available in over 70 countries. The magazine comprises many articles on topics such as health, true stories, humour, opinion, personality, facts and fiction.
4) Magic Pot:
Known to be a children’s weekly magazine that is published in English, this magazine is known to carry comics, poems, stories and fun activities for children to engage in such as crafts and games. It is aimed at primary to nursery schoolers by combining fun with a scientific approach.
5) The Economist:
Known to be a British weekly magazine that is a London-based magazine, it covers topics on business and politics. and culture. This magazine has a weekly readership of six million people worldwide. The articles that are covered in this magazine are known to be authentic and factual. This magazine has witnessed many developments with added sections that are dedicated to Asia, Europe, Latin America and international news.
6) Competition Success Review:
Also abbreviated as CSR, this magazine is a general knowledge magazine catering mainly to students who wish to appear for the Union Public Service Commission exams. The magazine consists of a lot of general knowledge – mainly focusing on Indian current affairs and events, interviews with IAS high-rankers, tips for college interviews, interviews and GD tips and solved question papers for competitive examinations. Some of the topics covered in this magazine include the Constitution of India, Gandhian Thought, or Indian history this magazine has not only been ranked as the number 1 magazine for students preparing for competitive exams.
7) Digit:
An Indian technology Digit magazine covers plenty of knowledge about technology trends, services and products that are of interest to techies in India. The tagline of this magazine is Your Technology Navigator and is owned by the 9.9 Group. While this magazine is circulated across India, it also reaches Oman, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Dubai and some other countries through unofficial channels. It is well known to be one of the most expensive monthly magazines In India. Besides just being a technology magazine, where you can get information about the latest technology news, features, and reviews; Digit also organises technology events and conducts seminars related to technology topics.
8) Mathematics Today:
A pioneer magazine that caters to the needs of engineering and IIT aspirants, this magazine provides the latest pre-engineering solved papers and model test papers. It is used as a barometer by most technical aspirants. The magazine provides information about numerous complex problems which require a high level of analytical ability. It is one of the best tools to tackle engineering entrance exams.
9) Pratiyogita Darpan Hindi:
An Indian bi-lingual magazine, this magazine focuses on general knowledge and current affairs that are specific to civil service exams and other competitive exams. From current affairs to economy, geography, history, politics and the constitution of India this magazine also has an online version, is the 3rd largest magazine in India and has a readership of 5 million people.
10) National Geographic Kids:
Often nicknamed Nat Geo Kids, National Geographic Kids is a children’s magazine that is published by the National Geographic Society. Published for twenty-six years as National Geographic World until in 2002 it was changed to National Geographic Kids. Having eighteen editions of National Geographic Kids in different languages the readership of this magazine is over 4.6 million. It is basically a version of National Geographic – the flagship magazine of the National Geographic Society. It has been created for children aged six years and up. Not only does this magazine cover animal facts but also features exploration, history lessons, nature and so much more.
