Tamil Nadu overtakes Telangana with highest retail inflation in September | Economy & Policy News

Tamil Nadu has overtaken Telangana to become the state with the highest retail inflation in the country at 6.81 per cent in September, ending Telangana’s run at the top of the table in every month of calendar year 2026 so far. Tamil Nadu’s combined (rural and urban) inflation rose from 5.91 per cent in August, data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed.

 

Telangana slipped to fourth place at 6.64 per cent, even though its own inflation rose from 6.27 per cent in August to its highest level this year. Odisha (6.7 per cent) moved into second place from fifth in the previous month, followed by Madhya Pradesh (6.68 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (6.29 per cent), which was fifth.

  

Data showed that Tamil Nadu’s inflation has more than doubled from 3.35 per cent in January to 6.81 per cent. In September alone, its inflation rose 90 basis points (bps), against 37 bps for Telangana.

 

All-India retail inflation rose to 5.54 per cent in September from 4.83 per cent in August. Inflation accelerated in 27 of the 28 states; Assam was the only exception, where it eased to 4.62 per cent from 4.83 per cent.

 

An analysis of the rural-urban divide revealed that Telangana also lost the top spot in both rural and urban areas, having led both tables every month from January to August.

 

Tamil Nadu recorded the highest urban inflation in September at 6.53 per cent, up from 5.78 per cent in August. It was followed by Telangana (6.21 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (5.74 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (5.72 per cent) and Karnataka (5.27 per cent).

 

In rural areas, Madhya Pradesh led at 7.31 per cent, followed by Odisha (7.24 per cent), Telangana (7.21 per cent), Tamil Nadu (7.17 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (6.71 per cent).

 

Rural inflation was higher than urban inflation in 25 of the 28 states, with Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura being the exceptions. Nationally, rural inflation stood at 6.08 per cent, against 4.88 per cent in urban areas.

 

Much of the rise in all-India inflation was driven by an increase in food prices. Analysis showed that food inflation in Tamil Nadu jumped to 10.62 per cent in September from 7.96 per cent in August, the highest among all states during the month.

 

Andhra Pradesh followed at 10.18 per cent, making the two southern states the only ones with double-digit food inflation.

 

Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra had the highest food inflation in August at 8.11 per cent.

 

All-India food inflation rose to 7.74 per cent in September from 5.97 per cent in the preceding month, and 10 states recorded food inflation above 8 per cent during the month.