Published Oct 05, 2026 | 7:06 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 05, 2026 | 7:16 PM
The national C-section rate was 27.2 per cent, up from 21.5 per cent in NFHS-5.
Synopsis: Telangana has India’s highest C-section rate at 62.2 per cent, but district-level data reveals an even sharper pattern. Rajanna Sircilla and Jagitial cross 80 per cent, while 19 of 33 districts record rates of 60 per cent or more. Hyderabad stands at 58 per cent, highlighting wide variations in C-section rates across the state.
Telangana, with 62.2 per cent of births delivered by C-section, has the highest rate of caesarean-section deliveries among Indian states and Union Territories, according to the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6) for 2023-24.
But the state-level number hides an even sharper divide.
The highest rates were not concentrated in the urban districts of Hyderabad, Rangareddy or Medchal Malkajgiri. Rajanna Sircilla recorded a C-section rate of 82.0 per cent, followed by Jagitial at 81.0 per cent. Karimnagar was at 79.9 per cent, Khammam at 78.0 per cent and Peddapalli at 76.1 per cent.
The national C-section rate was 27.2 per cent, up from 21.5 per cent in NFHS-5. All 33 districts in Telangana recorded a rate above the national figure.
The share of births delivered by caesarean section in Telangana rose from 60.7 per cent in NFHS-5 to 62.2 per cent in NFHS-6, an increase of 1.5 per cent, with a clear urban-rural gap: 70.1 per cent of urban births were delivered by C-section, compared with 59.5 per cent in rural areas.
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The district figures ranged from 38.5 per cent in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad to 82 per cent in Rajanna Sircilla, a gap of 43.5 percentage points.
Nineteen of the 33 districts recorded C-section rates of at least 60 per cent, while 12 recorded rates of 70 per cent or more.
At the other end of the table, six districts remained below 50 per cent: Sangareddy at 49.8 per cent, Mulugu at 48.0 per cent, Jogulamba Gadwal at 47.8 per cent, Mahabubnagar at 45.9 per cent, Narayanpet at 39.8 per cent and Kumuram Bheem Asifabad at 38.5 per cent.
Notably, even the lowest district rate was well above the national average.
The 12 districts at 70 percent or more were Rajanna Sircilla (82.0 per cent), Jagitial (81.0 per cent), Karimnagar (79.9 per cent), Khammam (78.0 per cent), Peddapalli (76.1 per cent), Nirmal (75.3 per cent), Hanumakonda (74.1 per cent), Nizamabad (71.0 per cent), Jayashankar Bhupalapally (70.4 per cent), Mancherial (70.3 per cent), Jangoan (70.2 per cent) and Mahabubabad (70.1 per cent).
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Hyderabad’s 58 per cent C-section rate was lower than the state average of 62.2 per cent, placing it 21st among the 33 districts.
Its neighbouring districts showed very different numbers. Medchal Malkajgiri recorded 68.2 per cent, placing it 13th, while Ranga Reddy recorded 50.2 per cent, placing it 27th.
The state-level urban-rural split was notable. C-sections accounted for 70.1 per cent of births in urban Telangana, compared with 59.5 per cent in rural Telangana. The district fact sheets, however, did not provide an urban-rural split for individual districts.
It meant that the very high district figures outside Hyderabad should not automatically be described as “rural” rates. They were district-level figures, covering all surveyed births in those districts.
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Rajanna Sircilla recorded the highest district rate at 82.0 per cent, up from 77.2 per cent in NFHS-5.
Karimnagar remained close to the 80 per cent mark at 79.9 per cent, although its rate fell from 82.4 per cent in NFHS-5.
Khammam rose from 69.2 per cent to 78.0 per cent, while Peddapalli increased from 71.6 per cent to 76.1 per cent. Nirmal declined slightly to 75.3 per cent from 77.3 per cent, while Hanumakonda rose from 69.3 per cent to 74.1 per cent.
Nizamabad also crossed the 70 per cent mark, rising from 66.7 per cent to 71.0 per cent. Mancherial increased from 67.9 per cent to 70.3 per cent.
The pattern was therefore not simply one of all high-C-section districts moving upward. Some of the highest-rate districts rose substantially, while others declined.
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Among the 29 districts for which NFHS-5 comparison figures were available, C-section rates increased in 16 and fell in 13.
Jagitial recorded the largest increase, rising 12.9 percentage points from 68.1 per cent to 81.0 per cent.
Kumuram Bheem Asifabad saw an 11.3-point increase, from 27.2 per cent to 38.5 per cent, while Adilabad rose 10.3 points, from 40.7 per cent to 51.0 per cent.
Khammam rose 8.8 points, Wanaparthy 7.8 points, and Kamareddy 7.3 points.
At the other end, Suryapet recorded the sharpest decline, falling 10.7 points from 77.0 per cent to 66.3 per cent. Jangoan fell 8.9 points, from 79.1 per cent to 70.2 per cent, while Ranga Reddy declined 7.6 points, from 57.8 per cent to 50.2 per cent.
Siddipet fell from 69.0 per cent to 63.4 per cent, and Nalgonda from 65.7 per cent to 60.3 per cent.
Four districts have no NFHS-5 comparison figure in the district fact sheets: Jayashankar Bhupalapally, Mulugu, Mahabubnagar and Narayanpet.
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C-section rates in private facilities fuelled the state’s overall rate.
In Telangana, 83.9 per cent of births in private health facilities were delivered by C-section, compared with 48.1 per cent in public facilities. The corresponding national figures were 54.1 per cent and 16.9 per cent, respectively.
Seven Telangana districts posted private-facility C-section rates of 90 per cent or more.
Kamareddy is the highest at 95.2 per cent, followed by Karimnagar at 93.6 per cent, Adilabad at 93.4 per cent, Mancherial at 92.4 per cent, Khammam at 90.8 per cent, Rajanna Sircilla at 90.7 per cent and Siddipet at 90.1 per cent.
Even in districts with lower overall rates, private-facility figures could be substantially higher. Narayanpet recorded 66.1 per cent, Nagarkurnool 69.8 per cent and Wanaparthy 71.2 per cent.
The district-level gap between private and public facilities was particularly striking in some places.
Adilabad recorded 93.4 per cent in private facilities but only 29.9 per cent in public facilities, a difference of 63.5 percentage points. Kumuram Bheem Asifabad has a 50.6-point gap, with 75.3 per cent in private facilities against 24.7 per cent in public facilities. Kamareddy has a 48.3-point gap.
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High C-section rates were not confined to private hospitals.
Nine districts recorded C-section rates of 60 per cent or more even among births in public facilities. Rajanna Sircilla led at 74.9 per cent, followed by Jagitial at 72.9 per cent, Peddapalli at 72.6 per cent, Karimnagar at 65.5 per cent, Hanumakonda at 64.1 per cent, Nirmal at 63.0 per cent, Jayashankar Bhupalapally at 62.4 per cent, Jangoan at 61.4 per cent and Nizamabad at 60.7 per cent.
Rajanna Sircilla’s public-facility rate rose from 60.6 per cent in NFHS-5 to 74.9 per cent in NFHS-6. Hanumakonda rose from 44.2 per cent to 64.1 per cent, Nizamabad from 45.0 per cent to 60.7 per cent, and Peddapalli from 58.2 per cent to 72.6 per cent.
Some districts moved in the opposite direction. Suryapet fell from 69.1 per cent to 55.3 per cent, Warangal Rural from 64.6 per cent to 50.9 per cent, and Jangoan from 73.0 per cent to 61.4 per cent.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
