Indian Readership Survey (IRS) likely to be missing for two years

It has been two years now that the Indian print media industry continues to work without any measurement and ranking. While publishers are divided over the absence of the Indian Readership Survey, Media Research Users Council India (MRUC India) says it has no plans to launch the survey as of now. The last Indian Readership Survey was conducted in 2019. The IRS was suspended in 2020 by MRUC India due to COVID-19-related restrictions.

The IRS, jointly published by the MRUC and Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI), is the world’s largest continuous study with an annual sample size exceeding 2.56 lakh respondents. The survey gives a snapshot of India’s print and other media consumption, demographics, product ownership and usage. The IRS also covers over 100 product categories in the households surveyed.