Tamil Nadu overtook Telangana to record the country’s highest retail inflation in September at 6.81 per cent, ending Telangana’s run at the top of the state rankings in every month of 2026 so far, data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed. Tamil Nadu’s combined rural and urban inflation rose from 5.91 per cent in August, while Telangana’s climbed to 6.64 per cent from 6.27 per cent, its highest level this year.
Odisha and Madhya Pradesh moved ahead of Telangana to take the second and third spots, respectively. Tamil Nadu’s inflation has more than doubled from 3.35 per cent in January, rising 90 basis points in September alone, compared with a 37-basis-point increase in Telangana.
Retail inflation accelerated in 27 of the 28 states in September. The all-India rate rose to 5.54 per cent from 4.83 per cent in August, with Assam the only state to record a decline.
Food prices drove much of the increase. Tamil Nadu’s food inflation surged to 10.62 per cent in September from 7.96 per cent in August, the highest among states. Andhra Pradesh was the only other state to record double-digit food inflation, at 10.18 per cent. National food inflation rose to 7.74 per cent from 5.97 per cent, with 10 states recording rates above 8 per cent.
