IRS 2012, Q1: Saras Salil and Malayala Manorama lose maximum readers since Q1, 2011

In the top 10 list of magazines, three new magazines have made an entry since Q1, 2011; Karmakshetra, General Knowledge Today and Samanya Gyan Darpan.

In the current quarter of IRS, Karmakshetra, Meri Saheli, Cricket Samrat and India Today (English) are the only magazines to have registered an increase in average issue readership (AIR). All the other magazines have recorded decline.

The Malayalam magazine from the stable of the Manorama Group, Vanitha, continues to be at the top spot this time as well. The fortnightly title has an AIR of 24.44 lakh in the latest quarter of IRS - a decrease of 72,000 readers since the last quarter. In fact, the magazine is the third biggest loser since Q1 2011, registering a loss of more than 2 lakh in AIR.

At No. 2 position is Pratiyogita Darpan, with an AIR of 18.93 lakh. The Hindi monthly publication had an AIR of 20 lakh last quarter - a decrease of about one lakh readers since the previous quarter. The magazine has been on a decline since Q2, 2011, when it recorded a loss of 1.29 lakh in AIR. Since then, the magazine has accumulated losses and is yet to compensate for the 1.34 lakh loss in AIR incurred during the last three quarters.

At No. 3 is another Hindi magazine, Samanya Gyan Darpan, which made its entry in the top 10 list of magazines in Q4, 2011. The Hindi monthly made its entry in the list with an AIR of 16.78 lakh and in this quarter, has registered a decline of 34,000 readers. In the latest quarter of IRS, the magazine has an AIR of 16.44 lakh.

India Today (English) is at No. 4 position, with an AIR of 16.13 lakh. Though the English weekly has added a marginal readership of 2,000, the magazine is yet to compensate for the loss of 37,000 readers incurred in the previous quarters.

At No. 5 is Delhi Press' Hindi fortnightly, Saras Salil, with an AIR 16 lakh. It is the biggest loser among the top 10 magazines in the last one year since Q1, 2011, registering a decline in AIR of 3.44 lakh. In fact, the magazine has lost the maximum readers this time as well, a loss of 1.67 lakh in AIR.

Yet another Hindi title, Meri Saheli, occupies the No. 6 spot in the list. The Hindi monthly magazine for women has an AIR of 12.59 lakh and is the second biggest gainer since Q1, 2011 - a gain of 1.59 lakh readers during the period. The magazine has gained 46,000 average issue readers, the second biggest gain by any magazine in the top 10 list, since the last quarter of IRS.

At the No. 7 spot is the biggest gainer since Q1 2011, Cricket Samrat, registering a gain in AIR of about 2 lakh during the period. In the current quarter of IRS, the special interest magazine has an AIR of 11.76 lakh as compared to 11.54 lakh readers registered in the previous quarter. The Hindi publication saw its peak during Q2 2011, when it registered a gain of 2.29 lakh average issue readers.

Malayala Manorama is at the eighth position, with an AIR of 11.63 lakh. The Malayalam title is the second biggest loser since Q1 2011, registering a loss in AIR of 2.50 lakh during the period. The weekly has been on a constant decline since the last few quarters.

The Bengali magazine Karmakshetra is at the No. 9 position. The weekly title has an AIR 11.42 lakh in the current quarter of IRS. The magazine made its entry in the list in Q2, 2011, with an AIR of 9.16 lakh. Prior to that, the position was taken up by Kumudam magazine.

At No. 10 is another English title, General Knowledge Today, with an AIR of 10.86 lakh, registering a marginal decrease in AIR of 6,000 readers. The English monthly, like Karmakshetra, made its entry in the list in Q2, 2011, after displacing Grehlakshmi from the position.

(Total readership includes any reader who has read any of the last six issues; whereas average issue readership includes only readers who have read the last issue.)