Explore the top podcasts in India in October 2026, from Raj Shamani’s interviews and true crime to mythology, horror, business and news podcasts. Compare Spotify and Apple Podcasts charts.
Looking for the top podcasts in India right now? October 2026’s latest available podcast charts feature a mix of business interviews, mythology, true crime, daily news, personal finance and horror storytelling.
Figuring Out with Raj Shamani leads Spotify India’s latest verifiable Top Podcasts snapshot, while The Stories of Mahabharata tops the latest accessible Apple Podcasts India chart. These differences show why listeners should compare charts by platform rather than assume there is one universal ranking.
Here are the leading podcasts, what they cover and where to listen.
The following ranking is based on the latest dated Spotify India Top Podcasts snapshot I could verify, last checked on October 19, 2026. Positions may have changed since then.
| Rank | Podcast | Host / publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Figuring Out with Raj Shamani | Raj Shamani |
| 2 | सनातन – Eternal Way of Life | Himanshu Gupta |
| 3 | Akshay Horror Podcast | Akshay Vashisht |
| 4 | India Unveiled | Rakesh Soni |
| 5 | The Youth Mind | AVI’ |
| 6 | Stories by Amaan Parkar | Amaan Parkar |
| 7 | The Desi Crime Podcast | Desi Studios |
| 8 | Pretkotha (Bengali Horror Podcast) | Gourab Tapadar |
| 9 | Prasad’s Gita Zone | Prasad Samantaray |
| 10 | The Prakhar Gupta Xperience | Prakhar Gupta |
Source: Spotify India Top Podcasts chart snapshot via Podstatus.
Apple Podcasts has a different mix of shows in its latest accessible India Top Podcasts chart. The snapshot below is based on a chart listing accessed during this research; the exact positions may change throughout the day.
| Rank | Podcast | Host / publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Stories of Mahabharata | Sudipta Bhawmik |
| 2 | Figuring Out with Raj Shamani | Raj Shamani |
| 3 | The Desi Crime Podcast | Desi Studios |
| 4 | The Daily Brief | Zerodha |
| 5 | Global News Podcast | BBC World Service |
| 6 | Teen Taal | Aaj Tak Radio |
| 7 | Finshots Daily | Finshots |
| 8 | The Morning Brief | The Economic Times |
| 9 | Huberman Lab | Scicomm Media |
| 10 | Chanakya Neeti (Sutra Sahit) | Audio Pitara |
Source: Apple Podcasts India Top Shows chart snapshot via Ausha and Apple Podcasts India chart via MillionPodcasts.
Best for: Business, entrepreneurship, interviews and personal growth
Figuring Out with Raj Shamani is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with entrepreneurs, public figures and experts. Episodes explore business decisions, career development, personal experiences and ideas that can help listeners understand how successful people think.
The show ranks No. 1 in Spotify India’s latest verifiable Top Podcasts snapshot and No. 2 in the accessible Apple Podcasts chart.
Listen: Search on Spotify | Search on Apple Podcasts
The following ranking is based on the latest dated Spotify India Top Podcasts snapshot I could verify, last checked on October 19, 2026. Positions may have changed since then.
| Rank | Podcast | Host / publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Figuring Out with Raj Shamani | Raj Shamani |
| 2 | सनातन – Eternal Way of Life | Himanshu Gupta |
| 3 | Akshay Horror Podcast | Akshay Vashisht |
| 4 | India Unveiled | Rakesh Soni |
| 5 | The Youth Mind | AVI’ |
| 6 | Stories by Amaan Parkar | Amaan Parkar |
| 7 | The Desi Crime Podcast | Desi Studios |
| 8 | Pretkotha (Bengali Horror Podcast) | Gourab Tapadar |
| 9 | Prasad’s Gita Zone | Prasad Samantaray |
| 10 | The Prakhar Gupta Xperience | Prakhar Gupta |
Source: Spotify India Top Podcasts chart snapshot via Podstatus.
Apple Podcasts has a different mix of shows in its latest accessible India Top Podcasts chart. The snapshot below is based on a chart listing accessed during this research; the exact positions may change throughout the day.
| Rank | Podcast | Host / publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Stories of Mahabharata | Sudipta Bhawmik |
| 2 | Figuring Out with Raj Shamani | Raj Shamani |
| 3 | The Desi Crime Podcast | Desi Studios |
| 4 | The Daily Brief | Zerodha |
| 5 | Global News Podcast | BBC World Service |
| 6 | Teen Taal | Aaj Tak Radio |
| 7 | Finshots Daily | Finshots |
| 8 | The Morning Brief | The Economic Times |
| 9 | Huberman Lab | Scicomm Media |
| 10 | Chanakya Neeti (Sutra Sahit) | Audio Pitara |
Source: Apple Podcasts India Top Shows chart snapshot via Ausha and Apple Podcasts India chart via MillionPodcasts.
Best for: Business, entrepreneurship, interviews and personal growth
Figuring Out with Raj Shamani is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with entrepreneurs, public figures and experts. Episodes explore business decisions, career development, personal experiences and ideas that can help listeners understand how successful people think.
The show ranks No. 1 in Spotify India’s latest verifiable Top Podcasts snapshot and No. 2 in the accessible Apple Podcasts chart.
Listen: Search on Spotify | Search on Apple Podcasts
Best for: Indian mythology, epic storytelling and cultural history
Hosted by Sudipta Bhawmik, The Stories of Mahabharata presents the ancient Indian epic as a narrated series. It explores the characters, family relationships and events that shape the Mahabharata.
The show ranks No. 1 in the latest accessible Apple Podcasts India chart, although it appears lower in the Spotify Top Podcasts snapshot. That is a clear example of how rankings vary by platform.
Listen: Apple Podcasts — The Stories of Mahabharata | Search on Spotify
Best for: True crime and investigative storytelling
The Desi Crime Podcast explores crime stories connected to South Asia and the wider South Asian community. The show is associated with Desi Studios and hosts Aryaan Misra and Aishwarya Singh.
It ranks in the top three on the accessible Apple Podcasts chart and appears among the leading shows in Spotify’s India snapshot. Its presence on both lists makes it one of the strongest cross-platform picks in this comparison.
Listen: Search on Spotify | Search on Apple Podcasts
Best for: Horror stories and spooky listening
Akshay Horror Podcast features horror-focused storytelling for listeners who enjoy suspense and supernatural themes. It ranks No. 3 in the latest verifiable Spotify India Top Podcasts snapshot.
Its appearance near the top of the Spotify list suggests that horror storytelling is an important part of the platform’s current podcast mix in India.
Listen: Search on Spotify | Search on Apple Podcasts
Best for: Indian stories, information and explainers
Hosted by Rakesh Soni, India Unveiled appears among Spotify India’s top podcasts. It is an option for listeners looking for informative content about India and topics connected to its society and culture.
The exact themes and format can vary by episode, so prospective listeners should check the latest episode descriptions before subscribing.
Listen: Search on Spotify
Best for: Business news and market updates
Published by Zerodha, The Daily Brief explains developments in business, finance and the economy. Its place in the Apple Podcasts India Top Shows chart makes it a useful choice for listeners who want concise context around current events and markets.
It is particularly relevant to people interested in Indian businesses, investing and the economic forces affecting everyday life.
Listen: Search on Spotify | Search on Apple Podcasts
Best for: International news and current affairs
Produced by BBC World Service, Global News Podcast provides international news coverage and reporting. It appears in the accessible Apple Podcasts India Top Shows chart.
For listeners who want to follow global developments alongside Indian news, it offers a way to hear a broader range of international stories.
Listen: Search on Spotify | Search on Apple Podcasts
Best for: Hindi conversations and comedy
Teen Taal, published by Aaj Tak Radio, is a Hindi conversational podcast known for its humour and discussion of everyday issues, society and culture.
Its appearance in the Apple Podcasts India Top Shows chart makes it a choice for listeners who prefer conversational Hindi content over formal news bulletins.
Listen: Search on Spotify | Search on Apple Podcasts
Best for: Business and finance explained simply
Finshots Daily explains business and financial developments in accessible language. The show is aimed at people who want to understand the stories behind market movements, companies and economic decisions without needing specialist knowledge.
It appears in the accessible Apple Podcasts India Top Shows chart.
Listen: Search on Spotify | Search on Apple Podcasts
Best for: Long-form conversations and personal development
Hosted by Prakhar Gupta, The Prakhar Gupta Xperience features extended conversations about ideas, people, culture and personal experiences. It appears in the top ten of Spotify India’s latest verifiable Top Podcasts snapshot.
Listeners who enjoy interview-based shows can explore the podcast alongside Figuring Out with Raj Shamani.
Listen: Search on Spotify | Search on Apple Podcasts
Spotify and Apple Podcasts use their own chart systems, so a show can rank highly on one platform and lower on another.
Spotify explains that its Top Podcasts charts use weekly unique audiences, while its Trending Podcasts charts use a combination of growth factors. Apple says its Top Shows charts reflect signals including listening behaviour, follows and episode completion.
The platforms also have different audiences, catalogues and listening patterns. A chart position is therefore a platform-specific popularity signal, not a universal measure of total listeners.
For this article, the Spotify ranking uses a snapshot last checked October 19, while the Apple ranking comes from the latest accessible chart listing during research. These are not guaranteed to be simultaneous rankings from October 22.
Official methodology: Spotify Podcast Charts | Apple Podcasts Charts.
For business and entrepreneurship: Figuring Out with Raj Shamani
For mythology: The Stories of Mahabharata
For true crime: The Desi Crime Podcast
For horror: Akshay Horror Podcast
For daily business news: The Daily Brief or Finshots Daily
For international news: Global News Podcast
For Hindi conversations: Teen Taal
Your best choice depends on the type of content you enjoy. Try an episode from a show that interests you, then follow it on your preferred platform to receive new releases.
In the latest verifiable Spotify India Top Podcasts snapshot, Figuring Out with Raj Shamani is No. 1. In the latest accessible Apple Podcasts India Top Shows snapshot, The Stories of Mahabharata is No. 1.
Figuring Out with Raj Shamani and The Desi Crime Podcast appear among the leading shows on both platforms in the snapshots used for this article.
Not necessarily. The latest dated Spotify Top Podcasts snapshot verified for this article was checked on October 19. The Apple chart is a recent accessible snapshot, but it may update throughout the day. The rankings should not be presented as simultaneous, fixed positions for a precise moment on October 22.
Use Spotify Podcast Charts and Apple Podcasts Charts. Check the country and chart type before comparing positions.
India’s podcast charts in October 2026 feature a diverse mix of interviews, mythology, true crime, horror, news and finance. Figuring Out with Raj Shamani leads Spotify’s latest verifiable snapshot, while The Stories of Mahabharata tops the latest accessible Apple Podcasts chart.
Use these rankings as a discovery guide, not as a universal league table. Since both platforms refresh their charts, check the live listings before quoting a position in a later update.
Last updated: October 22, 2026.
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