India Today Group

India Today Group is the consumer-facing identity of Living Media India Limited, an Indian media conglomerate headquartered in New Delhi. The group began in 1975 with India Today, a fortnightly news magazine founded by Aroon Purie and Madhu Trehan. That publication became the foundation for a broader media portfolio spanning magazines, newspapers, television, radio, books, printing, digital publishing and related services. The group's principal editorial brand is India Today, which developed from a magazine serving English-speaking Indian readers into a wider multi-platform news and information franchise. Over time, the group added publications and media properties covering business, automobiles, lifestyle, fashion, general interest and other specialist subjects. Listed examples include Business Today, Auto Today, Brides Today, Mail Today, Target, Today and Indian editions of international magazine brands such as Reader's Digest, Harper's Bazaar and Cosmopolitan. Television became a major part of the business through TV Today Network. The network was incorporated in 1988 and initially developed Newstrack, a video-magazine format created during a period when private television broadcasting was not permitted in India. Newstrack distributed recorded programmes to subscribers and became known for fast-paced investigative reporting. Its programming expanded from relatively short early editions to longer formats, while coverage of subjects including Kashmiri militancy and the demolition of the Babri Masjid helped establish its news credentials. TV Today Network subsequently developed a portfolio of English- and Hindi-language television and digital news properties. The channel group includes Aaj Tak, India Today, Good News Today and Aaj Tak HD, alongside digital distribution through websites and video platforms. Aaj Tak is the group's principal Hindi news brand, while India Today provides English-language television and digital journalism under the wider India Today identity. Beyond publishing and broadcasting, the group has operated or been associated with radio, printing, books, digital media, educational initiatives and social-impact activities. Its wider interests include Ishq 104.8 FM, Thomson Press, the India Today Media Institute, Care Today and Vasant Valley School. These activities reflect a strategy of extending the group across the production, distribution, training and institutional infrastructure surrounding mass media. Aroon Purie is identified as the group's chairman and editor-in-chief, while Dinesh Bhatia is identified as its chief executive officer. The group remains primarily focused on Indian audiences and operates across print, television and digital channels rather than as a single-format publishing company. Its long-term significance comes from the way it connected magazine journalism with television news and later online distribution, creating one of India's best-known privately operated news-media portfolios.

Living Media India, marketed as India Today Group, was established in 1975 by Aroon Purie and Madhu Trehan. Its first major publication was India Today, a fortnightly news magazine. The publication provided the group with an editorial and commercial base at a time when India's modern private media sector was still developing. The India Today name later became the central identity for a much broader portfolio of print, broadcast and digital properties. The group expanded beyond its original magazine business into newspapers, specialist publications, books, radio, television, printing and internet services. Its magazine portfolio came to include titles addressing business, automobiles, fashion, lifestyle, general interest and youth audiences. The group also became involved with Indian editions of internationally recognized magazine brands, including Reader's Digest, Harper's Bazaar and Cosmopolitan. Mail Today represented its newspaper activity, while other titles such as Business Today and Auto Today extended the group's editorial reach into specialized subject areas. A major turning point came with the creation of TV Today Network in 1988. Because private television broadcasting was prohibited in India at the time, the network's early video-magazine project, Newstrack, produced programmes on videotape and distributed them to subscribers. The format combined current-affairs reporting with a faster visual style and was compared by contemporary observers with investigative television programmes in other markets. Madhu Trehan was the creator of Newstrack and also worked as one of its anchors. The project began with a small reporting team and grew in staff size and programme length. Newstrack's reporting on Kashmiri militancy and the demolition of the Babri Masjid became notable examples of its coverage. As India's broadcasting environment changed, TV Today Network developed from a video-magazine operation into a television and digital news network. Its portfolio came to include Aaj Tak, India Today, Good News Today and Aaj Tak HD, together with digital channels and online video distributed through the group's websites and external platforms. The television business became an important extension of the India Today Group's existing editorial brands. The group also developed non-editorial and supporting businesses. These have included Thomson Press, radio under the Ishq 104.8 FM name, the India Today Media Institute, Care Today and Vasant Valley School. Such activities broadened the organization beyond content creation into printing, training, radio, education and social initiatives. In its current structure, the India Today Group remains associated with Living Media India Limited and operates across multiple media formats in India. Aroon Purie is identified as chairman and editor-in-chief, and Dinesh Bhatia as chief executive officer. TV Today Network is a separately listed company on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange and operates several of the group's major television news properties. The group's development illustrates the transition of an Indian magazine publisher into an integrated news and information company spanning print, television and digital distribution.

1. 1988TV Today Network is incorporated

   The television arm is incorporated and begins developing Newstrack, a videotape-distributed video magazine created when private television broadcasting was prohibited.

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2. 1975India Today Group is founded

   Aroon Purie and Madhu Trehan establish the media business, whose first publication is the fortnightly India Today news magazine.

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3. Newstrack expands its reporting operation

   The Newstrack team grows from an initial small group of journalists, and programme length expands from approximately 30 minutes to as much as 90 minutes.

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4. Television portfolio develops into a multi-channel network

   TV Today Network develops a portfolio including Aaj Tak, India Today, Good News Today and Aaj Tak HD, alongside online and video-platform distribution.

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A broad Indian news and information media group combining established magazine journalism with television news, digital publishing and related media services.

• India TodayNews magazine and multimedia news brand1975

  The group's founding publication and principal editorial brand. It began as a fortnightly news magazine and later expanded into television and digital journalism under the India Today name. The brand is associated with national current-affairs coverage and serves as a central platform within the wider India Today Group.

• Aaj TakHindi television and digital news

  A Hindi-language news property operated through TV Today Network. It is one of the principal television brands in the group's broadcast portfolio and is distributed alongside related digital news products.

• Business TodayBusiness magazine

  A specialist publication focused on business and economic subjects. It extends the group's magazine presence beyond general news into financial, corporate and management coverage.

• Auto TodayAutomotive magazine

  An automotive-focused publication covering the vehicle sector and related motoring subjects within the group's specialist magazine portfolio.

• Mail TodayNewspaper

  A newspaper title associated with the group's expansion from magazines into daily newspaper publishing.

• NewstrackVideo magazine1988

  An early television-format product created by Madhu Trehan. It recorded current-affairs and investigative programmes on videotape and distributed them to subscribers before private television broadcasting was permitted in India.

• Ishq 104.8 FMRadio

  A radio property listed among the group's other media interests, extending its operations beyond print and television broadcasting.

• India Today Media InstituteMedia education

  A media-training and education initiative associated with the group and aligned with its broader involvement in journalism and communications.

• Thomson PressCommercial printing

  A printing business listed among the group's non-broadcast interests, supporting the wider publishing and production ecosystem.

• 1988Launch of NewstrackProduct launch

  Private television broadcasting was prohibited in India, limiting conventional broadcast distribution for independent news organizations.

  What changed. TV Today Network developed a videotape-based video magazine and distributed recorded programmes directly to subscribers.

  Aftermath. Newstrack helped establish the group's television journalism operation, which later developed into a multi-channel television and digital news network.

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1. Living Media India
2. India Today Group official website