This post has been updated. Please see after the jump.

The Audit Bureau Of Circulation has started releasing data for January-June 2009 and we are bringing you a partial set of figures for prominent dailies.

The Times of India and The Economic Times in Mumbai registered a drop both sequentially and year-on-year. TOI’s circulation in Greater Mumbai (ABC classification) dropped 0.37% year-on-year, while ET’s circulation dropped 13.88% y-o-y. Deccan Chronicle grew 25.9% y-o-y, while HT Media’s Hindi daily Hindustan‘s Patna and Ranchi edition grew 4.21% y-o-y.

The data for other editions of these dailies as well as data for other dailies will be gradually available within the next fortnight or so and we will keep you updated.

Update: Bennett, Coleman’s VP for circulation, Vikesh Wallia, wrote in to say that our post was misleading about TOI’s figures in Mumbai. BCCL publishes both TOI and ET. The clarification hinges on the distinction between circulation figures for Greater Mumbai Edition and Greater Mumbai.

From his email:

ABC clearly differentiates between the Edition circulation numbers and the City circulation numbers. The topline certificate is for the Edition which always serves more than the city of publication. In case of TOI you have rightly quoted the Greater Mumbai Edition figures but have ignored the Greater Mumbai figures.
You will observe from the ABC certificate table below that although there is miniscule decline of 0.37 % i.e. 2,724 copies in the edition sales, TOI Greater Mumbai sales has grown Y-o-Y by 1.88 % i.e 12,288 copies.

The reason for edition sale decline is the fall in Upcountry, due to Goa copies (5,671 copies) appearing in the previous corresponding period certificate.  We have since started our Goa edition wef May 08. Copies of some other areas also have been realigned due to recent printing location addition /changes reasons at Nagpur, Chennai and Surat etc. that reflect decline in upcountry copies.

*  JJ 08 TOI includes 5671 Copies of Mumbai edition printed at GOA in Upcountry figures