The Caravan is India’s only monthly magazine devoted to narrative journalism, i.e., publishing articles combining months of research and reportage with compelling storytelling. It is housed in the Delhi Press, one of India’s oldest publishing houses. By consistently covering a variety of issues from politics and governance to culture and art, the magazine brings a cross-section of topics from across India to the forefront of public debate.

1. MODEL - SOCIAL BUSINESS
ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW
The Caravan is India’s only monthly magazine devoted to narrative journalism, i.e., publishing articles combining months
of research and reportage with compelling storytelling. It is housed in the Delhi Press, one of India’s oldest publishing
houses. By consistently covering a variety of issues from politics and governance to culture and art, the magazine brings
a cross-section of topics from across India to the forefront of public debate.
THE PROBLEM
The mainstream media often reports stories without
providing historical context or the long term view of an
issue, cultivating knee-jerk responses in readers. It is
also common for reporters to be under pressure to
provide biased opinions depending on the ownership
and advertising interests of the publication.
CARAVAN’s RESPONSE
By providing the space for in-depth reflection on topics,
the time to do months of research,and most importantly,
the editorial freedom to present a balanced view of an
issue,Caravan provides a rare space in India for writers to
engage the public in a nuanced debate. This also
promotes thoughtful readership.
The Caravan
Founded: 2010 | Head Office: New Delhi | Coverage: Pan-India | Full-Time Staff: 25
Budget (2013-14): Organization – INR 5 crore; Governance – INR 5 crore
HOW DID IT EVOLVE?
The Caravan
WHAT DOES IT DO?
www.caravanmagazine.in
Caravan was launched as Delhi
Press’s first magazine, and
became one of the magazines
defining English journalism in
India through the 1950s
and 1960s
Delhi Press discontinued
the magazine
Re-launched as India’s first
long-form narrative journalism
magazine, combining in-depth
reportage with engaging
storytelling, in the style of
publications like the New
Yorker and the Atlantic
Globally renowned writers,
journalists and academics
have been published in the
magazine, providing a
national platform for quality
discourse
1940 1988 2010 2014
Reportage and Essays: Caravan works with some of the finest writers
across Asia to produce reporting on issues of public interest:
Eg. Prominent individuals profiled include former prime minister
Manmohan Singh, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, steel magnate
Naveen Jindal.
Books, Poetry, Fiction and Photo Essays: Fiction, non-fiction, poetry
and photography from across the country is showcased, providing
exposure to new voices and forgotten talent from across India.
Print and Online Publication:
Stories on governance, public policy, conflict, business, politics,
foreign policy, health, education and profiles of prominent business
leaders, politicians, and other figures of national importance.
The gestation period for each story varies from three months to a
year. A staff member is dedicated to the story through this period or
a freelancer is paid a substantial fee to allow them to immerse
themselves in the production and reporting of the story.
The story then takes from a fortnight to a month to process, going
through a rigorous process of rewriting by editors followed by copy
edits and fact checking. This requires an investment in terms of
editors that far exceeds the norm in India.
Caravan brings out a monthly print issue of high quality design.
All articles are available free of cost on its website.
Public conversations with leading writers and academics are held
and shared online on a dedicated YouTube channel.
KEY INTERVENTIONS
1. Building awareness and mobilizing citizens
2. Training citizens for public engagement
3. Creating knowledge and evidence
4. Advocacy for policy design and
implementation
5. Technology platforms and solutions
6. Facilitating independent and inclusive
journalism
7. Capacity building of government officials
8. Capacity building of local partners
9. Facilitating platforms for multi-stakeholder
engagement
Caravan

2. WHAT’S NEXT?
“The Caravan for the past five years has been doing path-breaking journalism in India. We have broken grounds in the
quality of reporting, the quality of writing, the quality of editing, the quality of thoughts and analysis we’ve put out from
month to month. Caravan is as close as you can get to independent journalism in mainstream publishing in India.”
- Vinod K. Jose, executive editor
citizenvoice policy law servicedelivery thinktank transparency RTI
elections budgets urbangovernance panchayatiraj accesstojustice
technology humanrights independentmedia
I’m an admirer of it for three reasons... first,
in-depth analytical articles that give a fairly
full picture and understanding of the
subject; secondly, it’s extremely well-
written; linguistically its style is easy to read
– that I applaud; thirdly, it’s a journal that
evokes a wide cross-section of views so it
doesn’t have an ideology or a particular
standpoint, apart from perhaps for the
quest of truth.
- Karan Thapar
Indian TV commentator
Articles published in Caravan have received national and international recognition:
Reporting and Writing Workshop: Caravan wants to organize an annual reporting and writing workshop with the
Columbia Journalism School for 25 young aspiring journalists under the age of 25.
Editorial Fellows: It aims to institutionalize an editorial fellowship where editors get trained for six months at Caravan,
followed by six months at either the New Yorker, The Atlantic or Columbia Journalism School in the United States.
Staff Writers: Caravan also aims to increase its number of staff writers at all levels.
Caravan has a readership of 4-5 lakh, its website receives 1.5-2 lakh unique visitors each month and the average
Caravan cover story is shared 3,000 times on Facebook.
Caravan’s print circulation is at 40,500 copies per month along with 3.2 lakh monthly online page views.
WHAT HAS IT ACHIEVED?
VOICES FROM THE GROUND
Anant Nath: Director, Delhi Press Group; Managing
Editor; The Caravan; MBA (IIM); MA, Politics from Colum-
bia University
Vinod K. Jose: Executive Editor, The Caravan; Bollinger
Presidential Fellow, Columbia Journalism School
Hartosh Singh Bal: Political Editor, The Caravan; former
Political Editor, OPEN magazine; author of Waters Close
Over Us: A Journey Along the Narmada
Vinod K. Jose’s The Rise of Narendra Modi and On the
Success of Ethics cited for reporting excellence by the
Osborne Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia
QUALITY INDICATORS
The Caravan
Rohini Mohan's “The Defeated” was recognized as the best print media article on humanitarian issues by the
International Committee of the Red Cross and the Press Institute of India in 2012.
Vinod K Jose’s ‘Falling Man’- included in the compilation, 100 Great Stories by Columbia School journalists.
Leadership
Endorsements
12 A 80 G FCRA