India Today Group

Who owns India Today Group?
India Today Group is owned by Living Media India Limited (LMIL), a private Indian company controlled by the Purie family. Aroon Purie is the founder and Chairman, and Kalli Purie Bhandal is Vice Chairperson and Managing Director. TV Today Network Limited, the group's publicly traded subsidiary, is listed on BSE and NSE under ticker TVTODAY.

Is India Today Group publicly traded?
The holding company, Living Media India Limited, is private and not publicly traded. However, TV Today Network Limited, the group's broadcasting subsidiary, is publicly traded on BSE Limited (Scrip Code 532515) and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (Symbol: TVTODAY).

Who founded India Today Group?
India Today Group was founded in 1975 by Aroon Purie with the launch of India Today magazine, India's first news magazine.

Who is the CEO of India Today Group?
Aroon Purie serves as Chairman and Whole-time Director of TV Today Network. Kalli Purie Bhandal serves as Vice Chairperson and Managing Director. Dinesh Bhatia serves as Group CEO. Aroon Purie and Kalli Purie Bhandal receive remuneration from Living Media India Limited, the holding company.

What is India Today Group's revenue?
TV Today Network Limited reported revenue from operations of INR 993.02 crore and total income of INR 1,038.73 crore for FY2024-25 (ended March 31, 2025). Profit after tax was INR 82.72 crore. The broader India Today Group, including Living Media India Limited, has been reported as approximately INR 1,100 crore in revenue.

How many people does India Today Group employ?
TV Today Network Limited employed 2,373 people as of March 31, 2025, consisting of 2,189 permanent employees and 184 non-permanent employees. Of these, 1,783 were male (75 percent) and 590 were female (25 percent). The broader India Today Group, including Living Media India Limited, employs additional staff not captured in TVTN's reporting.

What brands does India Today Group own?
India Today Group owns four news channels (Aaj Tak, Aaj Tak HD, India Today TV, Good News Today), magazines (India Today, Business Today, Cosmopolitan India, Overdrive), 31 digital-first brands (including The Lallantop, MO, Kisan Tak, Karnataka Tak, UP Tak), and Sana, an AI anchor. The group previously operated Ishq 104.8 FM radio stations, which are being sold to Creative Channel.

What is The Lallantop?
The Lallantop is a Hindi digital-first news and views platform operated by India Today Group. It was originally launched to engage Hindi-speaking millennials in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities but has since broadened its reach. It is one of 31 digital-first brands operated by the group.

India Today Group was founded in 1975 by Aroon Purie with the launch of India Today magazine. The publication was India's first news magazine, introducing a new format for news and current affairs reporting. India Today magazine quickly gained prominence for its investigative journalism and editorial quality.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, India Today magazine established itself as one of India's most influential publications. The magazine won numerous journalism awards and gained recognition for its editorial excellence and in-depth reporting. India Today Group expanded its operations, establishing editorial offices across major Indian cities.

In the 2000s, India Today Group expanded beyond print media, launching Aaj Tak, a Hindi-language news channel, which became one of India's leading news channels. The group also launched India Today TV, an English news channel, expanding its reach across language segments. TV Today Network Limited was incorporated on December 28, 1999, and its shares were listed on BSE and NSE.

The group expanded its magazine portfolio with titles including Business Today, Cosmopolitan India, and Overdrive, covering business, lifestyle, and automotive segments. The company also operated Ishq 104.8 FM radio stations in Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata, though in February 2025, TV Today Network entered into an agreement to sell its FM radio broadcasting operations to Creative Channel Advertising and Marketing Private Limited for INR 20 crore.

With the rise of digital media, India Today Group invested heavily in digital platforms, launching websites, mobile applications, and digital-first brands. The group's digital footprint includes a cumulative user base exceeding 30 million and over one billion page views recorded from April 2023 to March 2024. In 2025, the group launched MO, an Instagram-first platform targeting English-speaking urban millennials, and a dedicated health and well-being vertical.

In 2023, the group launched Sana, an AI anchor, which appeared on the 9 pm show and conducted interviews with celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan. Sana delivered bulletins in 12 languages at the 2023 G20 summit. The group has also created AI twins of primetime anchors Anjana Om Kashyap and Shweta Singh for use when anchors are needed in both field and studio simultaneously.

India Today Group does not hold B Corp certification or comparable third-party sustainability credentials. The group's Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report for FY2024-25, filed with BSE and NSE, covers environmental, social, and governance practices.

The group has an Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee chaired by Kalli Purie Bhandal, with members including Neera Malhotra and Dinesh Bhatia. The company also has a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee chaired by Aroon Purie.

On workforce diversity, TV Today Network reported 2,373 total employees as of March 31, 2025, with 1,783 male (75 percent) and 590 female (25 percent) employees. The group has stated commitments to equity and inclusion in its workplace practices.

The group's editorial standards have been subject to regulatory scrutiny, with the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) issuing multiple rulings against Aaj Tak for content violations. These cases raise questions about the balance between editorial independence and responsible journalism.

India Today Group and its brands have received significant recognition:

• Over 180 awards across all platforms in FY2023-24
• Aaj Tak is the most followed news channel on social media
• Aaj Tak is the only news channel with a Custom button on YouTube worldwide
• 2 million concurrent users on YouTube live stream during Ayodhya consecration coverage
• India Today magazine's five-decade history as India's leading news magazine
• Sana AI anchor featured at 2023 G20 summit in 12 languages

India Today Group has faced several controversies and regulatory actions:

NBDSA Orders Against Aaj Tak
In February 2024, the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) ordered Aaj Tak to remove a "fictional video" targeting Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party. The video, aired on anchor Sudhir Chaudhary's primetime show Black and White in March 2023, used an animated story about a highway dacoit in an insinuation to Gandhi's conviction in a defamation case. The NBDSA found the video was "not in good taste" and "should have been avoided." The NBDSA also fined Times Now Navbharat and News18 India and warned Aaj Tak for targeting the Muslim community in broadcasts that used the phrase "love jihad."

Operation Sindoor Misleading Visuals (May 2025)
In May 2025, Aaj Tak broadcast old footage from the Gaza-Israel conflict, falsely presenting it as real-time visuals of India's military operation against Pakistan-based terrorist organizations (Operation Sindoor). On May 9, 2025, anchor Anjana Om Kashyap and news anchor Shweta Singh aired a four-year-old video of Israel's Iron Dome system, misleadingly claiming it showed an Indian air defense system intercepting Pakistani air strikes near Jaisalmer. Independent fact-checking by Alt News confirmed the video was uploaded to YouTube in May 2021 and had no connection to the India-Pakistan conflict. Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) filed a formal complaint against Aaj Tak, citing violations of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting advisories on coverage of defence operations.

Defamation Case by Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai
A Delhi court summoned Aroon Purie, Kalli Purie, and other India Today executives in a criminal defamation case filed by Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai. The case stems from articles published on the Aaj Tak website that claimed Rai was summoned for questioning by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force in connection with conman Sanjay Sherpuria. Rai contends the articles falsely stated he is the nephew of Sanjay Sherpuria. The Supreme Court later granted an interim stay on the Delhi High Court's order, noting that the allegations did not specifically implicate Purie.

Sonali Phogat Death Coverage Defamation
The Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to quash criminal defamation proceedings against TV Today Network Limited in connection with Aaj Tak's reporting on the 2022 death of BJP leader and actor Sonali Phogat. Former Haryana MLA Gopal Kanda alleged that Aaj Tak and other media outlets defamed him by falsely linking him to Phogat's death. The court dismissed TV Today's plea to quash the chargesheet filed by Gurugram police.

Right to Be Forgotten Case
In August 2024, the Delhi High Court granted an injunction against India Today Group and other media houses, directing them to take down defamatory posts about a businessman who had been acquitted in a criminal case. The court noted that the media houses had not removed the original defamatory posts despite the acquittal, but instead updated them to mention the acquittal, which effectively revived the original allegations. The court invoked the right to be forgotten, stating that "the right to freedom of expression of the press in the present case must give way to the right to privacy of the plaintiff."

Radio Business Sale
In February 2025, TV Today Network announced the sale of its FM radio broadcasting operations (Ishq 104.8 FM) to Creative Channel Advertising and Marketing Private Limited for INR 20 crore. The sale of three radio stations in Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata was subject to regulatory approvals from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.