Press Registrar General of India (PRGI), formerly known as the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), is an independent government body operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It functions under the Press Registration and Publication Act (PRP Act), 2023. PRGI is responsible for the registration, circulation monitoring, and archival of periodicals in India. Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.
One of PRGI’s key responsibilities is the publication of an annual report on the state of the print media industry in India. This report is considered a crucial resource for aspirants of media-related competitive exams like CUET, UGC NET/JRF, and PCS PRO/APRO.
In its latest edition titled “Press in India” (2022–2023), PRGI includes a special section on centenarian periodicals—newspapers that have been in continuous circulation for over 100 years. India is home to quite a few such publications; in fact, 42 newspapers fall under this prestigious category.
Among them, one of the most notable is the Mumbai Samachar, established in 1822 by Fardunjee Marzban. It is published in both Gujarati and English. This newspaper holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously published newspaper in Asia and the fourth oldest in the world.
Likewise, following is list of all the centenarian periodicals published in india:
| S.No | Title/ Language/ Periodicity/ Place | Year of Launch |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bombay Samachar / Gujarati Daily / Mumbai (Title changed to Mumbai Samachar) | 1822 |
| 2 | Jam-E-Jamshed / Gujarati Daily / Mumbai | 1832 |
| 3 | The Times of India / English Daily / Mumbai | 1838 |
| 4 | Calcutta Review / English Quarterly / Calcutta | 1844 |
| 5 | Tirunelveli Diocesan Magazine / Tamil Monthly / Tirunelveli | 1849 |
| 6 | The Examiner / English Weekly / Mumbai | 1850 |
| 7 | The Guardian / English Fortnightly / Chennai | 1851 |
| 8 | Kheda Vartman / Gujarati Weekly / Kaira | 1861 |
| 9 | Belgaum Samachar / Marathi Weekly / Belgaum | 1863 |
| 10 | Gujarat Mitra & Gujarat Darpan / Gujarati Daily / Surat | 1863 |
| 11 | Newman’s Indian Bradshaw / English Monthly / Kolkata | 1865 |
| 12 | The Pioneer / English Daily / Lucknow | 1865 |
| 13 | Amrit Bazaar Patrika / English Daily / Kolkata | 1868 |
| 14 | Sathiavartamani / Bilingual Monthly / Madurai | 1870 |
| 15 | Satya Shodhak / Marathi Weekly / Ratnagiri | 1871 |
| 16 | Subodha Patrika / Bilingual Quarterly / Mumbai | 1873 |
| 17 | Behar Herald / English Weekly / Patna | 1874 |
| 18 | The Statesman / English Daily / Kolkata | 1875 |
| 19 | Sathyanadam / Bilingual Weekly / Kochi | 1876 |
| 20 | Sup Staff / English Monthly / Chennai | 1876 |
| 21 | The Hindu / English Daily / Chennai | 1878 |
| 22 | Bharuch Samachar / Gujarati Weekly / Bharuch | 1879 |
| 23 | Prabodh Chandrika / Marathi Weekly / Jalgaon | 1880 |
| 24 | National Christian Council Review / English Monthly / Mysore | 1880 |
| 25 | Achikni Ripeng / Garo Monthly / Meghalaya | 1881 |
| 26 | Kesari / Marathi Daily / Poona | 1881 |
| 27 | The Tribune / English Daily / Chandigarh | 1881 |
| 28 | Sinhahand / Marathi Monthly / Mumbai | 1882 |
| 29 | Madras Christian College Magazine / Bilingual Annual / Chennai | 1883 |
| 30 | Musheer-E-Deccan / Urdu Daily / Hyderabad | 1884 |
| 31 | Arya Gazette / Urdu Weekly / Delhi | 1884 |
| 32 | Shree Jain Dharma Prakash / Gujarati Monthly / Bhavnagar | 1886 |
| 33 | Deepika / Malayalam Daily / Kottayam | 1887 |
| 34 | The New Leader / English Weekly / Bangalore / Chennai | 1887 |
| 35 | Capital / English Weekly / Kolkata | 1888 |
| 36 | Malayala Manorama / Malayalam Daily / Kottayam | 1890 |
| 37 | Murshidabad Hitaisihi / Bengali Weekly / Murshidabad | 1893 |
| 38 | Chinsurah Bartabaha / Bengali Weekly / Hooghly | 1893 |
| 39 | Madhya Pradesh Sandesh / Hindi Fortnightly / Gwalior | 1895 |
| 40 | Jain Gazette / Hindi Weekly / Ajmer | 1895 |
| 41 | Yuddha Dhvani / Telugu Monthly / Chennai | 1897 |
| 42 | Khalsa Samachar / Punjabi Weekly / Amritsar | 1899 |