Which is the most unbiased newspaper in India?

On a combined factuality and centrality score, The Hindu and the Indian Express come out on top among India's English dailies. The Hindu is strongest on foreign and judicial reporting; the Indian Express leads on investigative work and keeps national-politics framing close to the centre.

Is The Hindu left or right wing?

The Hindu's news pages are largely centrist, while its editorial and opinion sections lean centre-left. Coverage of foreign policy and the judiciary is widely regarded as balanced, but readers should expect a liberal slant on the editorial page.

Is the Indian Express more neutral than the Times of India?

Yes. The Indian Express scores higher on factuality and centrality in the KaalNews dataset, mainly because of its investigative reporting standards and tighter separation between news and opinion. The Times of India is centrist in framing but devotes more space to soft news and lifestyle.

What's the best newspaper to read for UPSC and current affairs?

Most UPSC aspirants read The Hindu or the Indian Express for national and international affairs, and Business Standard or Mint for the economy. Pairing one general daily with one business daily covers the spectrum most exam questions are drawn from.

Most Unbiased Newspaper in India — 2025 Ranking

India's English-language dailies vary widely in how they frame the same story. We ranked seven of the most-read national papers — The Hindu, Indian Express, Business Standard, Mint, The Telegraph, Hindustan Times and Times of India — on factuality and how close their editorial framing sits to the political centre.

How we ranked them

• Factuality: share of claims that match independent fact-checks across a 12-month window (higher is better).
• Centrality: 0–10 score for how close front-page framing sits to the political centre (10 = most neutral).
• Editorial bias: averaged across primetime news desks, lead editorials and column selection.

Final rank weights factuality and centrality equally. Data is from KaalNews's source-reliability dataset, refreshed monthly.

The ranking

#	Newspaper	Ownership	Bias	Factuality	Centrality
1	The Hindu	Kasturi & Sons	Centre-left	91/100	8/10
2	Indian Express	Indian Express Group	Centre	90/100	9/10
3	Business Standard	Business Standard Pvt Ltd	Centre	89/100	9/10
4	Mint	HT Media	Centre	86/100	8/10
5	The Telegraph	ABP Group	Centre-left	83/100	6/10
6	Hindustan Times	HT Media	Centre	80/100	7/10
7	Times of India	Bennett, Coleman & Co.	Centre	72/100	6/10

Paper-by-paper breakdown

1. The Hindu

Centre-left

Kasturi & Sons · Factuality 91/100 · Centrality 8/10

Long-standing reputation for sober reporting, strong foreign-affairs and Supreme Court desks; editorial page leans liberal but news pages stay measured.

2. Indian Express

Centre

Indian Express Group · Factuality 90/100 · Centrality 9/10

Strongest investigative track record among English dailies; framing on national politics is largely neutral and bylined reporting carries weight across the spectrum.

3. Business Standard

Centre

Business Standard Pvt Ltd · Factuality 89/100 · Centrality 9/10

Business-first lens keeps political framing transactional rather than partisan; columnists span a wider ideological range than most general dailies.

4. Mint

Centre

HT Media · Factuality 86/100 · Centrality 8/10

Data-driven economic reporting and policy analysis; opinion section is balanced between market-liberal and welfare-state voices.

5. The Telegraph

Centre-left

ABP Group · Factuality 83/100 · Centrality 6/10

Sharply written and willing to challenge the government, but front-page framing leans clearly liberal; pair with a centre-right paper for balance.

6. Hindustan Times

Centre

HT Media · Factuality 80/100 · Centrality 7/10

Wide reach in north India and reliable on city desks; national politics coverage tends to be cautious and middle-of-the-road.

7. Times of India

Centre

Bennett, Coleman & Co. · Factuality 72/100 · Centrality 6/10

Largest circulation in English; centrist on framing but heavy on soft news and ad-driven layouts, which crowd out civic coverage.

How to read Indian newspapers without an echo chamber

Pair one general daily (The Hindu or Indian Express) with one business daily (Business Standard or Mint) — it covers most of what you need across politics and the economy.
Read the editorial page of a paper on the opposite side of the spectrum once a week — it sharply highlights what your usual paper underplays.
Cross-check breaking-news framing in a bias-aware reader so you see Left, Centre and Right coverage side-by-side.
Treat front-page headlines as framing signals, not summaries — the body of the story often hedges what the headline asserts.

See every side, not just one paper

KaalNews shows Left, Centre and Right coverage on every story — including dailies like The Hindu, Indian Express and Times of India — and flags blindspots when one side under-covers a topic.

Open KaalNews

Last updated 23 June 2026. Bias, factuality and centrality ratings are derived from KaalNews's source-reliability dataset.