Upkar Prakashan
Upkar Prakashan is an Agra-based Indian publisher specializing in Hindi and English competitive examination books, magazines, and digital learning platforms, serving aspirants across UPSC, SSC, banking, railway, and state-level exams throughout India.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersAgra, India
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Upkar Prakashan does
Upkar Prakashan is a privately held Indian publishing company headquartered in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, with a 40+ year operating history focused on competitive examination preparation content. The company publishes over 2,000 book titles covering major Indian competitive examinations including UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, Defence, Police, Teaching, and state-level Public Service Commission exams, offered in both Hindi and English. The product portfolio is anchored by the Pratiyogita Darpan magazine group — which includes Pratiyogita Darpan (Hindi and English editions), Samanya Gyan Darpan, and Success Mirror — with Pratiyogita Darpan rated as India's #1 Career and Competition Magazine by the Indian Readership Survey since 2000.
The underlying technology stack is a publishing and e-commerce platform comprising multiple owned digital properties: the main retail storefront upkar.in, dedicated e-books distribution at ebooks.upkar.in, e-learning at elearning.upkar.in, online testing at testrange.in, and a digital magazine at emagazine.pdgroup.in. The platform supports credit card, net banking, and demand draft payments, with domestically-focused fulfillment (free shipping above Rs. 500, Rs. 50 otherwise). Distribution is hybrid: direct-to-consumer through the e-commerce site plus a physical agent and dealer network across India, plus direct magazine subscriptions.
The business model is multi-stream: one-time book sales (both print and digital, with a standard 30% discount on most titles priced between Rs. 77 and Rs. 425 MRP), recurring magazine subscriptions, special issue publications, and advertising revenue across magazines, books, and websites (advertisers named include Idea Cellular, Yahoo, Ranbaxy, Punjab National Bank, Indian Army, and Indian Navy). The customer base is exclusively B2C, targeting civil services aspirants, banking and SSC candidates, railway job aspirants, and other exam-going segments across India, with a particularly strong position in the Hindi-medium market that has historically been underserved by English-led publishers.
Upkar Prakashan firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Upkar Prakashan
- Legal name
- Upkar Prakashan
- Website
- https://upkar.in
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Upkar Prakashan is an Agra-based Indian publisher specializing in Hindi and English competitive examination books, magazines, and digital learning platforms, serving aspirants across UPSC, SSC, banking, railway, and state-level exams throughout India.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Upkar Prakashan industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Educational Publishing (Competitive Exam Preparation)
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (513130), Book Publishers (51313), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Civil Service & Government Entrance Exams Prep (EDANABAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Assessment, Testing & Exam Prep Publishing (MPAJABAF), K-12 & School-Based Language Exam Prep (AP, IB, IGCSE/A-Levels) (EDANACAE)
Keywords
Where Upkar Prakashan is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Agra
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
Upkar Prakashan business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Book Sales: One-time sale of physical and digital books covering competitive examinations across India, with books ranging from Rs. 77 to Rs. 425 in MRP and standard 30% discount on most titles.
- Magazine Subscriptions: Monthly magazine publications including Pratiyogita Darpan (Hindi and English), Samanya Gyan Darpan, and Success Mirror, with Pratiyogita Darpan rated as India's no. 1 career and competition magazine.
- Special Issue Publications: Extra issue publications like Indian Economy issue, Year book, Current Events Round-up for civil services aspirants.
- Advertising Revenue: Advertising opportunities across magazines, books, and websites reaching youth audience, with advertisers including Idea Cellular, Yahoo.com, Ranbaxy, Punjab National Bank, Indian Army, Indian Navy.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Physical and digital competitive exam preparation books |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Upkar Prakashan product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Upkar Prakashan is a publishing house that produces and sells over 2,000 printed competitive exam preparation books in Hindi and English, covering examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, Defence, Police, Teaching, and state-level tests. The company also publishes the Pratiyogita Darpan group of monthly career/competition magazines and operates related digital platforms for e-books, e-learning, and online testing practice.
Product overview
Upkar Prakashan is a publishing company offering a portfolio of competitive exam preparation materials through multiple channels. The core offering consists of over 2,000 printed books covering civil services (UPSC), SSC, Banking, Railway, Defence, Police, Teaching recruitment, and various state-level examinations in both Hindi and English. Supporting digital products include e-books through Upkar e-books platform, e-learning content, and the Pratiyogita Darpan group of monthly magazines (including Pratiyogita Darpan in Hindi/English, Samanya Gyan Darpan, and Success Mirror). An online testing service called TestRange provides practice examinations. The company operates primarily through its e-commerce platform at upkar.in and serves students across India preparing for government and competitive examinations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Upkar Career Books: Largest selling competition books covering civil services, bank, railway, SSC, LIC, and other competitive examinations
- Upkar Career Development Series
- Pratiyogita Darpan
- Samanya Gyan Darpan
- Success Mirror
Products and services
- Competitive Exam Preparation Books Print books covering competitive examinations in India including UPSC, State PSC, SSC, Banking (IBPS/SBI/RRB), Railway (RRB NTPC, Group D, ALP, JE), Defence (NDA, CDS, Air Force, Navy, SSB), Police, Teaching, Scholarship, and UGC NET/JRF/SET, published in Hindi and English across more than 2,000 titles.
- Upkar e-books Digital versions of Upkar's competitive exam preparation book catalog distributed through a dedicated e-books platform at ebooks.upkar.in, allowing aspirants to access the same titles in digital format.
- Upkar e-learning Online learning platform hosted at elearning.upkar.in that delivers competitive exam preparation content to aspirants in a structured digital format.
- Pratiyogita Darpan Magazines Monthly career and competition magazines including Pratiyogita Darpan (Hindi and English editions), Samanya Gyan Darpan, and Success Mirror, covering career news, current affairs, and solved papers for civil services, banking, SSC, and other competitive exams. Pratiyogita Darpan has been rated India's No. 1 Career and Competition Magazine since 2000 per the Indian Readership Survey.
- TestRange Online Test Platform Online examination testing platform hosted at testrange.in that allows competitive exam aspirants to take practice and assessment tests in a digital environment.
- Pratiyogita Darpan e-Magazine Digital magazine version of the Pratiyogita Darpan publications distributed online through emagazine.pdgroup.in for subscribers preferring digital access to the monthly magazine content.
Quantifiable outcome
- India's no. 1 Career and Competition Magazine since Year 2000
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Upkar Prakashan
Customer profileSegments8 records
Ideal customer profiles8 records
Upkar Prakashan technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Upkar Prakashan partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Pratiyogita Darpan GroupcoreParent/affiliated group publishing magazines including Pratiyogita Darpan (India's no. 1 career magazine), Samanya Gyan Darpan, and Success Mirror. The group operates multiple digital platforms including e-books, e-learning, and online testing services.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Upkar Prakashan competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- S. Chand and Company: Large, established Indian educational publisher spanning K-12 textbooks, higher education, and competitive exam titles; broader portfolio than Upkar but overlapping on civil services and government exam segments.
- Jagran Prakashan (Jagran Josh): Media conglomerate whose Jagran Josh vertical produces digital exam-prep content, current affairs, and results coverage that competes with Upkar's Pratiyogita Darpan magazines in online and print.
Emerging players
- Testbook: India-focused online test prep platform for banking, SSC, railway, and government exams; represents the digital-native model competing with Upkar's print-led franchise in the same exam categories.
- Unacademy: Leading Indian edtech platform with live and recorded courses for UPSC, banking, SSC, and government exams; the most prominent digital challenger to traditional exam-prep publishers including Upkar.
Direct peers
- Disha Publications: Indian publisher focused on competitive exam preparation books and study guides for banking, SSC, UPSC, and school entrance exams; competes head-to-head with Upkar on title breadth and dealer distribution.
- Arihant Publications: One of India's largest exam-prep publishers with comparable coverage of UPSC, SSC, banking, railway, and school entrance titles in Hindi and English. Direct catalog and channel overlap with Upkar across both print and digital platforms.
- Youth Competition Times: Hindi-medium competitive exam book publisher with overlapping SSC, banking, railway, and teaching exam content; directly competes in Tier-2/3 Hindi-belt markets.
- Cosmos Publications (KHanna): Indian exam-prep publisher offering Hindi and English books for SSC, banking, railway, and civil services aspirants with a similar catalog depth and dealer network footprint.
- Ramesh Publishing House: Long-standing Indian publisher of competitive exam and government job preparation books covering similar domains (SSC, banking, railway, defence) with comparable dealer-driven distribution.
Others
- Pratiyogita Darpan Group (PD Group): Affiliated/sister publishing group producing Pratiyogita Darpan, Samanya Gyan Darpan, and Success Mirror magazines; closely intertwined with Upkar's magazine and digital businesses through shared ownership.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Upkar Prakashan social profiles
Digital presenceUpkar Prakashan financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Upkar Prakashan leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Upkar Prakashan subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Upkar Prakashan funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Upkar Prakashan M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Upkar Prakashan
What does Upkar Prakashan do?
Upkar Prakashan is a publishing house that produces and sells over 2,000 printed competitive exam preparation books in Hindi and English, covering examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, Defence, Police, Teaching, and state-level tests. The company also publishes the Pratiyogita Darpan group of monthly career/competition magazines and operates related digital platforms for e-books, e-learning, and online testing practice.
Is Upkar Prakashan a public or private company?
Upkar Prakashan is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Upkar Prakashan founded?
Upkar Prakashan was founded in 1980. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Upkar Prakashan based?
Upkar Prakashan is headquartered in Agra, India, in the Asia region.
How does Upkar Prakashan make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Book Sales are the primary driver. The others are magazine Subscriptions, special Issue Publications and advertising Revenue.
Who are Upkar Prakashan's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are S. Chand and Company and Jagran Prakashan (Jagran Josh). Emerging players are Testbook and Unacademy. Direct peers are Disha Publications, Arihant Publications, Youth Competition Times, Cosmos Publications (KHanna) and Ramesh Publishing House. Pratiyogita Darpan Group (PD Group) is listed as an others.
Does Upkar Prakashan have an API?
No public API is recorded for Upkar Prakashan.
What industry is Upkar Prakashan in?
Upkar Prakashan's product category is Educational Publishing (Competitive Exam Preparation). Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDANABAG, Civil Service & Government Entrance Exams Prep, with a secondary code of MPAJABAF, Assessment, Testing & Exam Prep Publishing. Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.