"The estimated major subsidies in 2012-13 would be around 2.4 per cent of GDP," he said while intervening in a discussion at the meeting of the Full Planning Commission to approve the 12th Plan draft document.
The subsidy during the current fiscal was estimated at 1.9 per cent of GDP in the Budget.
The major subsidies, include fuel, fertiliser and food, and the government has been proposing direct cash transfer to prevent leakages.
In order to check fuel subsidy bill, the government has raised the price of diesel by Rs 5.62 a litre and capped supply of subsidised LPG cylinders to six per family in a year.
Elaborating on the subject of subsidy in the meeting, Chidambaram said the 12th Plan estimate of reducing subsidy bill from 1.9 per cent of the GDP in the current fiscal to 1.2 per cent in 2016-17 was "over-optimistic".
"A sharp fall as assumed in the Plan may be over- optimistic," he said, adding that direct cash transfer of subsidies in food, fertilisers and petroleum will help in this reduction.
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"I would urge that by the end of the 12th Plan, these three major subsidies be rolled out across the country through direct cash transfers to the beneficiaries.
"Pilot projects are already under implementation for LPG and kerosene and it is our intention to extend the direct transfer mechanism to the UTs in the first phase," he said.
Later, talking to reporters, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the panel would take follow-up action on the suggestions made by Chidambaram and hoped that by the end of the 12th Plan period all subsidies would be paid through direct transfer to the beneficiaries.