16-07-2025
10 States, UTs outpace national inflation in Q1
Synopsis
India's retail inflation hit a six-year low, but state-wise data reveals significant variations. Ten states and union territories, including Kerala, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir, experienced inflation rates exceeding the national average of 2.7% in the first quarter. Food, fuel, and personal care costs were key drivers, with differing state-level weights contributing to the upward bias.
Agencies India inflation numbers (Image for representation) India posted its slowest retail inflation in six years in the April-June quarter, but an analysis of the data shows a wide variance in state-wise readings, with some posting significantly faster price increases than the to an ET analysis, 10 states/union territories posted faster inflation than the national average of 2.7% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Kerala, often seen as a consumption-oriented state, was at the top with a reading of 6.4%, followed by Punjab (4.7%), the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (4.4%), Uttarakhand (3.6%), Karnataka (3.5%) and Haryana (3.4%). The other states that posted faster inflation than the national average were Maharashtra (3.1%), Chhattisgarh (2.9%), Himachal Pradesh (2.9%) and Tamil Nadu (2.8%). The analysis focuses on major states and UTs with a population exceeding 5 million as per Census key drivers of inflation across states were food products, fuel and light, and personal care and effects.
"The differing weights for states in these categories account for the upward bias," Bank of Baroda chief economist Madan Sabnavis states have consistently recorded higher inflation in recent months, particularly Kerala, Punjab and the UT of J&K.
