Guided story
How does India consume news?
The numbers quoted every June come from a survey that is not nationally representative. Here is the full, honest picture, stitched together from many sources, showing a country split between an English-online minority and a Hindi-print majority.
Do Indians trust the news?
Every June, one number makes the rounds: the share of Indians who say they trust the news. In 2026 it is 39%, ranking 18th of 48 markets, a touch above the global average of 37%, and the headlines write themselves. But look at who was actually asked. The Reuters Digital News Report surveys roughly 2,000 Indians who are online and answering in English, and it says so itself, in the small print, every single year. That group is younger, richer, more urban and more male than the country. So 39% is not how much India trusts the news. It is how much a particular, connected slice trusts it. The line has moved modestly from 38% in 2021 to 39% now, but the more important number is the millions of Hindi and vernacular news readers the survey never reaches.
Do Indians trust the news?
Reuters Institute Digital News Report · India · surveyed online, English-speaking users · 2021-2026
2026 · latest point
Trust among surveyed online Indians is 39% in 2026, barely changed from 38% in 2021, and it describes only the online, English-speaking slice.
This line tracks the share of Indians in the Reuters DNR who say they trust most news most of the time. It inches from 38% to 41% and back to 39% over six years. The global average sits at 37%, but that comparison is less important than the sample caveat. The DNR surveys only online, mainly English-speaking users and warns it is “not nationally representative.” It under-counts rural, older, less-educated, and non-English-speaking Indians. The number is real for the group it measures, but it is not the national trust figure.
How the connected slice gets its news
Inside that online slice, news no longer arrives on a front page. Among surveyed online Indians, YouTube leads at about 58% in 2026, used for news in the last week. WhatsApp jumped nearly 10 points in a single year to about 56%, and Instagram has climbed fast to around 45%. Facebook sits lower at roughly 39%, and Telegram at 23%. These are platforms where news is encountered, not necessarily trusted. The shift is from newsrooms to video and chat apps. And tucked inside the 2025 round of the same survey, about 53% of these online Indians named WhatsApp as the channel carrying the biggest threat of false or misleading information, the highest figure of any market. Closed, forwarded, video-first channels are exactly the ones hardest to fact-check.
How the connected slice gets its news
Reuters DNR · India · platforms used for news in the last week · surveyed online users
YouTube · 2026 · latest point
YouTube and WhatsApp have overtaken text-based news among the online slice, with WhatsApp jumping roughly 10 points in a single year.
This multi-line chart shows the share of surveyed online Indians who used each platform for news in the last week. YouTube leads and has risen from about 53% in 2022 to 58% in 2026. WhatsApp surged from about 51% to 56%, with its sharpest jump in the latest year. Instagram climbed from 32% to 45%, and Facebook held steady around 39%. The picture is clear: news arrives through video and chat apps, not through newspaper websites or search. But these are platforms used for news, not trusted for it. The closed nature of WhatsApp, where forwarded videos spread without attribution, also makes it the top channel named for misinformation.
The India that came online
Before asking how India consumes digital news, consider how recently and how fast it got online at all. In December 2008, India had just 5.45 million broadband subscribersbroadband subscribersThe total number of active broadband connections (wired + wireless) as reported by telecom operators, not unique individuals.The staggering 1,073 million figure is often misread as ‘India has a billion internet users’—it overstates because one person can have multiple subscriptions.. Cheap 4G arrived, and the curve turned almost vertical. By April 2026, the total crossed 1,073 million. But these are subscriptions, not unique people; one person can hold several SIMs, and one phone can carry a work line and a data line. The number overstates the count of unique internet users, but it tells a clear story: India came online late, and it came online on mobile, in a rush.
The India that came online
TRAI monthly Telecom Subscription reports · total broadband subscribers · 2008-2026
2026-04 · latest point
India went from 5.45 million broadband subscribers in 2008 to over 1,070 million by 2026, but these are subscriptions, not unique people.
The line shows a near-flat trend until about 2016, then an explosion as cheap 4G arrived. The jump from tens of millions to over a billion subscriptions is a connectivity revolution, and it created the base for digital news. But each subscriber is a connection, not a person. One individual can hold multiple SIMs, and business connections count separately. The number overstates unique internet users. Still, it tells a story of how late and how fast India came online, overwhelmingly on mobile.
Who can actually use the internet
The official, nationally representative survey from MoSPI gives the honest anchor. In 2025, about 86% of all households had internet access, but the ability to use it splits hard. Urban men top the chart at about 86%, while rural women sit at only about 58%. Rural men (72%) and urban women (74%) fall in between. That near-28-point gap between an urban man and a rural woman is the divide an English online panel cannot see. These numbers are from a door-to-door survey that sampled the whole country, not a self-selected web panel. They remind us that access and ability are not the same thing, and the internet is still not a universal news source in India.
Who can actually use the internet
MoSPI · NSS Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom 2025 · nationally representative
The digital divide is stark: about 86% of urban men can use the internet, but only about 58% of rural women can.
Four horizontal bars from the MoSPI National Sample Survey show the share of persons aged 15+ who can use the internet. Urban men top at 85.5%, urban women at 74%, rural men at 72.1%, and rural women at 57.6%. The gap between an urban man and a rural woman is about 28 percentage points. This nationally representative door-to-door survey is the official anchor. It reveals the wide inequality in internet ability that an English online panel cannot see. Access and skill are not evenly distributed, and news that moves online is out of reach for a large share of the country.
Town and country, online
The urban-rural split shows in the subscription numbers too. At the end of March 2025, TRAITRAITelecom Regulatory Authority of India; publishes monthly data on internet and broadband subscriptions, not on individual users.Its subscriber counts show the explosion in connectivity but work as supply-side numbers, not a count of unique people. reported about 111 internet subscriptions per 100 people in cities, against about 45 in rural areas. The all-India average is about 69, hiding the split. Urban penetration can exceed 100 because many people carry more than one connection. Wireless accounts for about 96% of all internet subscriptions, confirming that India’s internet is overwhelmingly mobile. This is supply-side infrastructure, not a count of unique news readers, but it frames how unequally the connectivity that the online news survey assumes is actually spread across the country.
Town and country, online
TRAI · internet subscribers per 100 population · end-March 2025
Urban internet subscriptions are about 111 per 100 people, compared to about 45 in rural India, and the all-India average of about 69 hides this gap.
Three bars show internet subscribers per 100 population at the end of March 2025, as reported by TRAI. Urban areas reach about 111, while rural areas sit at about 45. The all-India figure is about 69. Urban penetration can exceed 100 because of multiple SIMs and business connections. Wireless accounts for around 96% of all internet subscriptions, confirming that India’s internet is overwhelmingly mobile. This is a supply-side measure, not a count of unique users, but it illustrates the uneven infrastructure that underpins digital news consumption. A rural news reader is far less likely to have a reliable data connection than an urban one.
Even online, TV and print are fading
Inside the narrow slice the DNR surveys, the old media are losing weekly reach year on year. Weekly use of television for news fell from about 59% in 2021 to about 44% in 2026. Print dropped from about 50% to about 35%. This is a real change among online Indians, but it is not the national picture. Television and print still reach far more people across the whole country than the DNR sample captures, and they are fading more slowly in reality than in this survey. The DNR itself warns that it “will tend to under-represent the continued importance of traditional media such as TV and print.”
Even online, TV and print are fading
Reuters DNR · India · weekly use of TV and print for news · surveyed online users
Television · 2026 · latest point
Within the surveyed online slice, weekly TV use for news fell from about 59% to 44% and print from about 50% to 35% over five years.
Two lines track the share of DNR respondents who used television or print for news in the last week. Both have declined steadily since 2021. TV dropped 15 percentage points, and print 15 as well. This is a real shift among online, English-speaking Indians. However, the DNR explicitly warns it under-represents the continued importance of TV and print nationally. Across the whole country, these media still reach far more people and are fading more slowly. The chart is a wake-up call for the online slice, not a death knell for traditional media.
The 2026 pecking order for news
A single snapshot of the online slice in 2026 shows a clear hierarchy: YouTube (58%), WhatsApp (56%), Instagram (45%), Facebook (39%), and Telegram (23%). Video and chat apps lead, search is absent from this list, and newspaper websites barely register as platforms by themselves. This is not a trust ranking; it is a usage survey. It tells you where the connected minority goes to bump into news, and it shows that for them, the newsroom is now a feed.
The 2026 pecking order for news
Reuters DNR · India · share using each platform for news in 2026 · surveyed online users
YouTube and WhatsApp lead the platform hierarchy for the online slice, followed by Instagram, Facebook, and Telegram.
A snapshot of the 2026 DNR data as horizontal bars. YouTube tops at 58%, WhatsApp at 56%, then Instagram (45%), Facebook (39%), and Telegram (23%). This is a usage ranking, not a trust ranking. It shows where news is encountered, not where it is believed. The dominance of video and chat apps reflects a mobile-first, visually driven news experience. Print websites and news apps are absent from this top list, underscoring how platform-controlled feeds have become the front page for this group.
A phone-first newsroom
For the surveyed online Indians, the news device is overwhelmingly the smartphone. The share using a smartphone for news has stayed high, moving from about 73% in 2021 to about 76% in the latest round. But this is not just a quirk of the online slice. The MoSPI national survey found that about 94% of internet users in India get online via mobile data, and about 59% of households own only a smartphone, without a computer or tablet. The phone-first habit is national, not a DNR artifact. For the farmer checking mandi prices, the young woman scrolling Instagram, and the office worker forwarding a news clip on WhatsApp, the newsroom fits in a pocket.
A phone-first newsroom
Reuters DNR · India · smartphone as a source for news · surveyed online users
2025 · latest point
About three-quarters of the online slice use a smartphone for news, and the nationally representative MoSPI survey confirms the phone-first pattern.
The DNR line shows smartphone use for news hovering between 73% and 76% from 2021 to 2025. This is consistent and high. The MoSPI national survey backs this up: about 94% of internet users go online via mobile data, and 59% of households own only a smartphone. So the phone-first habit is not a narrow DNR quirk; it is how the country connects. For most Indians, the news device is the same pocketable screen they use for payments, video calls, and entertainment. The newsroom fits in a phone.
The attention is moving to the feed
News increasingly lives inside algorithm-driven feeds where overall time spent keeps climbing. Quarterly social media hours in India rose from about 103 billion in early 2022 to about 173 billion by late 2025, according to FICCI-EY estimates. These are not all news hours, but they are the pool in which news must now compete for attention. When a breaking story lands in a feed sandwiched between a cricket clip and a wedding reel, the old habit of picking up a newspaper or tuning in to the 9 p.m. bulletin becomes harder to sustain.
The attention is moving to the feed
FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment report · time Indians spend on social media, per quarter
2025-10 · latest point
Quarterly social media hours in India rose from about 103 billion to 173 billion between early 2022 and late 2025, and news now lives inside these feeds.
This FICCI-EY line shows the steady climb in time spent on social media platforms each quarter. Starting around 103 billion hours in early 2022, it reaches about 173 billion by late 2025. Not all this time is news, but it represents the pool of attention in which news must compete. Breaking stories now sit between memes, cricket clips, and reels. The old habit of picking up a newspaper or switching on a bulletin is replaced by passive, scroll-driven exposure. This shift benefits platforms, not newsrooms.
AI just started eating the news audience
A sharp new twist: the online news audience, measured by ComscoreComscoreA digital measurement firm that reports online audience reach based on panel and tag data, often used by industry.Its numbers for online news audience are platform-centric; the 2025 drop may reflect AI redirecting traffic, not necessarily less news consumption., shrank for the first time. It had risen to about 461 million in 2024, then fell about 9% to roughly 428 million in 2025, the first such drop. Industry stakeholders point to AI: search summaries and chat apps that answer questions without sending readers to news sites. Some publishers say their own reach fell by over 30%. This is a platform-reach measure, not a survey self-report, so it is its own signal. It suggests that even within the connected slice, the path from a question to a news article is growing longer, and sometimes it ends before a reader ever sees a byline.
AI just started eating the news audience
Comscore (December each year), via FICCI-EY · reach of online news platforms in India
2025 · latest point
The online news audience measured by Comscore fell from about 461 million in 2024 to about 428 million in 2025, the first such drop, and AI is blamed.
This chart shows the reach of online news platforms in India, as measured by Comscore and reported by FICCI-EY. After rising to 461 million in 2024, it fell about 9% to 428 million in 2025. Industry stakeholders point to AI search summaries and chat apps that answer questions without sending users to news sites. Some publishers say their own reach fell by over 30%. This is a platform-reach measure, not a survey, so it is its own signal. Still, it suggests that even within the connected slice, the path from a question to a news article is being shortened by AI, often before a reader ever lands on a news page.
India’s print boom, and its recent slip
While Western newspapers were collapsing, India’s newspaper circulation roughly doubled through the 2010s. Claimed daily circulation rose from about 258 million copies in 2008-09 to a peak near 450 million in the mid-2010s, then eased back to about 379 million by 2023-24. Hindi led the boom, surging from about 120 million to a high of roughly 230 million before settling at about 187 million. English was always a small slice, moving between roughly 43 million and 68 million, and is now shrinking to about 40 million. This arc is the unfamiliar opposite of the Western story, and it is a important counterweight to any narrative that print is dying. The figures are self-declared and unaudited; PRGIPRGI (Press Registrar General of India)The statutory body that registers newspapers and periodicals and compiles the annual ‘Press in India’ report based on self-declared circulation figures.Its circulation numbers are the only long-term print data available, but they are unaudited and widely considered inflated. does not verify them. Read the broad shape, not the single-year numbers, and know that the Hindi heartland reads on paper far more than any online survey suggests.
India's print boom, and its recent slip
CSO/MoSPI (2008-2014) + PRGI Press in India (2018-2024) · claimed circulation · gap years not shown
All languages · 2023 · latest point
While Western newspapers collapsed, Indian circulation roughly doubled to a peak near 450 million copies a day, led by Hindi, and has only recently slipped to about 379 million.
Three lines of claimed circulation: total, Hindi, and English. Total circulation starts at about 258 million in 2008, climbs to a peak near 450 million in the mid-2010s, and then eases to about 379 million by 2023-24. Hindi drives the arc, rising from 120 million to about 230 million at its peak, then settling around 187 million. English was always a small slice, hovering between 43 and 68 million, and is now down to about 40 million. All numbers are self-declared and unaudited; PRGI does not verify them. The data come from two different compilers with gaps, so read the broad shape, not single-year precision. This is the opposite of the Western story, and it is a crucial counterweight to any “print is dying” narrative imported from abroad.
The news India actually reads on paper
A single-year look at the language of claimed circulationclaimed circulationThe number of copies a newspaper says it distributes each publishing day, self-declared to PRGI without independent audit.All print circulation figures in this article are claimed, not verified; they should be read as indicative of scale, not precise counts., from the PRGI report for 2023-24, makes the point brutally. Hindi accounts for about 187 million copies a day; English, only about 40 million. Marathi follows at about 30 million, Urdu at about 27 million, Telugu at about 23 million, Gujarati at about 17 million, and Tamil at about 9 million. The language in which most Indians actually read the news is the one the English online survey misses. The numbers are self-declared and unaudited, but their scale is impossible to ignore.
The news India actually reads on paper
PRGI · Press in India 2023-24 · self-declared circulation by language
Hindi claimed circulation is about 187 million copies a day, against English’s 40 million, exposing the language the English-online survey misses.
Horizontal bars from the PRGI ‘Press in India’ 2023-24 report: Hindi at 187.3 million, English at 39.5 million, Marathi at 29.7 million, Urdu 26.7 million, Telugu 22.6 million, Gujarati 17.3 million, Tamil 9.1 million. The total across languages is about 379 million copies per publishing day. These are self-declared and unaudited figures, but their relative scale is unmistakable. The language in which most Indians read the news is precisely the one that the English DNR survey cannot capture. The printed word remains a powerful force in many parts of the country, especially in Hindi and regional heartlands.
...and the titles behind it
The sheer count of registered periodicals tells the same story. In 2023-24, India had about 151,000 registered periodicals. Hindi accounted for about 58,600, English only about 20,200, followed by Marathi (11,052), Urdu (7,035), Telugu (6,473), Tamil (6,290), and Bengali (5,113). Registered titles are a cumulative stock, not all still publishing; only about 36,000, roughly a quarter, actually filed an annual return. But the ecosystem is unmistakably vernacular. The English-online survey captures the view from the smaller tower.
...and the titles behind it
PRGI · Press in India 2023-24 · registered periodicals by language
India has about 151,000 registered periodicals, with Hindi titles outnumbering English nearly three to one.
PRGI data on registered periodicals in 2023-24: Hindi at 58,603, English at 20,204, then Marathi (11,052), Urdu (7,035), Telugu (6,473), Tamil (6,290), Bengali (5,113). The total across languages is about 151,000. ‘Registered’ is a cumulative stock; only about 36,000, or roughly a quarter, actually filed an annual return. Still, the count shows where the news ecosystem lives: in vernacular languages, often in small towns and districts, far from the English online world. These titles, many of them dailies or weeklies, form the backbone of local news for millions.
Seeing news vs seeking news
Even among those who are online, deliberately reading the news is rarer than stumbling into it. The IAMAI-Kantar ICUBEIAMAI-Kantar ICUBEA large-scale internet-use survey by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and Kantar, covering active internet users and news behaviour.It reveals that most online Indians only stumble upon news and that rural users now outnumber urban ones. survey of 2024 found that, out of about 886 million active internet usersactive internet usersPeople who used the internet at least once in the last month, as defined by IAMAI-Kantar surveys.This is a broader denominator than DNR’s online panel and helps show the rural and language divide., about 582 million, or two-thirds, encounter news online. But only about 180 million, just one in five, consciously seek it out. Most internet users bump into news in WhatsApp forwards, social feeds, and YouTube recommendations rather than opening a news app or visiting a newspaper website. Passive exposure is not the same as readership, and a large part of the online news audience is a fleeting, scroll-past audience.
Seeing news vs seeking news
IAMAI-Kantar ICUBE 2024 · online news users among 886m active internet users
About 582 million online Indians encounter news, but only 180 million consciously seek it out—passive exposure dominates.
Two bars from the IAMAI-Kantar ICUBE 2024 survey. Out of about 886 million active internet users, 582 million (66%) encounter news in some form, while only 180 million (20%) actively look for it. The gap between passive exposure and active readership is enormous. Most online news users bump into stories in WhatsApp forwards, social feeds, and video recommendations. They do not visit news sites or open news apps. This means that a large share of the online news audience is fleeting and accidental, not a reliable readership. News organisations that count these as “reach” are counting glances.
The internet’s centre of gravity moved to the village
The online India of 2024 is more rural than the English-online survey implies. The ICUBE survey counted about 488 million active internet users in rural areas against about 397 million in urban India. The fastest-growing, most numerous part of online India now lives outside cities. And about 98% of these users consume content in Indian languages, not English. This rural, Indic-language internet is almost invisible to a survey fielded in English online, yet it is where the next wave of news consumption is being shaped.
The internet's centre of gravity moved to the village
IAMAI-Kantar ICUBE 2024 · active internet users by area
Rural active internet users (488 million) now outnumber urban ones (397 million), and 98% consume content in Indian languages.
ICUBE 2024 data shows rural India with 488 million active internet users, surpassing urban India’s 397 million. Alongside, surveys indicate that 98% of internet users in India consume content in Indian languages. This rural, Indic-language internet is the fastest-growing part of the online world. Yet it is almost invisible to an English online survey fielded through web panels. The next wave of news consumption—videos, forwards, audio—is being shaped here, in the village, not in the metro. English media brands that ignore this shift are looking at only half the picture.
The year digital overtook television
Industry revenue confirms where the money has moved. In 2024, digital media revenue overtook television for the first time: about ₹851 billion against television’s ₹679 billion. By 2025, digital had climbed past ₹1,100 billion while television slipped to about ₹617 billion. Print stayed roughly flat, hovering between ₹250 billion and ₹259 billion, though circulation revenue has fallen for two years running. Film recovered modestly to about ₹205 billion, and radio remained tiny, around ₹23 billion. Digital advertising reached about ₹947 billion in 2025, roughly 63% of all ad spend. This is advertiser and subscription money, not audience reach. Television still reaches far more Indians than digital, but the financial centre of gravity has shifted.
The year digital overtook television
FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment report · segment revenue · 2022-2025
Digital · 2025 · latest point
Digital media revenue passed television in 2024 (₹851 billion vs ₹679 billion) and hit ₹1,110 billion in 2025, but revenue is not audience reach.
Multi-line chart from FICCI-EY: digital starts at ₹571 billion in 2022, crosses TV (₹726 to ₹679) in 2024, and jumps to ₹1,110 billion in 2025. Television slides to ₹617 billion. Print stays flat around ₹250-259 billion, though circulation revenue has dipped for two years. Film recovers modestly to ₹205 billion, radio stays tiny at ₹23 billion. This is advertiser and subscription money—it reflects where businesses think attention is, but TV still reaches far more people. Digital’s revenue dominance does not mean digital is the most-watched medium; it reflects higher ad rates on targeted platforms. The money confirms a shift, but the audience picture is more complex.
Which brands the online slice trusts
When the same online panel is asked about specific brands, a familiar pattern emerges. Legacy print mastheads and public broadcasters top the list: The Times of India at about 69%, Hindustan Times at 67%, All India Radio and Economic Times at 65%, BBC and Indian Express at 64%, DD India and The Hindu at 63%. Private television channels sit in the middle: NDTV at 62%, CNN-News18 and India Today TV at 61%, Republic TV at 57%. Digital-born outlets score lowest: The Wire at 51%, Scroll.in at 48%. A low trust score is ambiguous; it can mean a brand is genuinely distrusted, or that it reports critically on those in power and is actively disliked, sometimes amid coordinated pressure. The DNR explicitly warns that these scores are not a measure of journalistic quality.
Which brands the online slice trusts
Reuters DNR · India · trust in individual news brands · surveyed online users
Legacy print mastheads and public broadcasters top the trust list; digital-born outlets score lowest, but low trust can also reflect critical journalism.
Horizontal bars from the DNR 2026 brand trust survey. Times of India leads at 69%, Hindustan Times 67%, All India Radio and Economic Times at 65%, BBC and Indian Express 64%, DD India and The Hindu 63%. Private TV channels sit in the middle: NDTV 62%, CNN-News18 and India Today TV 61%, Republic TV 57%. Digital-born outlets score lowest: The Wire 51%, Scroll.in 48%. A low trust score is ambiguous—it can mean a brand is distrusted, or that it reports critically on power and is actively disliked, sometimes amid coordinated harassment. The DNR warns that these scores are not a measure of journalistic quality. This is a snapshot of perception among the online slice, not a ranking of truthfulness.
How should you read these numbers?
There is no single, authoritative dataset on how India consumes news. This article is stitched together from whatever could be found: the Reuters Institute Digital News Report, an annual survey of roughly 2,000 online, mainly English-speaking Indians that is, by its own statement, not nationally representative; TRAI’s administrative telecom data, which counts subscriptions, not unique people; the MoSPI National Sample Survey on Telecom, a nationally representative anchor; the IAMAI-Kantar ICUBE internet-use survey; the PRGI ‘Press in India’ report with its self-declared, unaudited circulation; and the FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment report, which gives industry revenue, not reach. Each source looks at a different corner of the problem, and they do not always agree. Numbers that describe the online, English-speaking slice should never be read as the whole country. Circulation figures are self-declared and likely inflated. Revenue is not audience size. The honest picture is a mosaic, not a clean measurement. Read it as the best available, held together by the knowledge that the India of the famous survey is the smaller one.