Hindustan Times is one of India’s finest English language newspapers, catering to a large and diverse reader base across India. Being immensely popular across all age groups, Hindustan Times has a large circulation figure. The Audit Bureau of Circulations of India is the organisation that conducts certifications and audits of circulation figures of the country’s major publications, including newspapers and magazines. Circulation figures help newspapers and magazines determine the cost of advertising. The term ‘circulation’ refers to the total number of copies of a newspaper or magazine that are distributed on average per day. The circulation figure includes paid circulation (i.e. copies of the publication that have been purchased) as well as free circulation (i.e. copies of the publication that have been distributed free of charge). This figure is important because it helps advertisers decide which newspapers or magazines to place their advertisements in.

In India, the National Readership Survey (NRS) and the Indian Readership Survey (IRS), which have been the two primary readership surveys in the country, have come together to form the Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI) after the Media Research Users’ Council adopted the proposal to do so during its annual general meeting in September 2011. The erstwhile National Readership Survey was a survey of all media but with a focus on print media, and it was conducted by the National Readership Survey Council, which consisted of members from the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), the Advertising Associations of India (AAI) and the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). The Indian Readership Survey, as of today, is the largest continuous readership research study in the world. Its annual sample size exceeds 2,56,000 respondents, and it is conducted by the Media Research Users’ Council and the Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI).