Fiscal deficit will be contained at 4.8% of GDP: Chidambaram

India's fiscal deficit will be contained at 4.8% of the gross domestic product in the current fiscal year ending March, the finance minister said, hinting at possible cuts in government spending.

P Chidambaram expressed on Wednesday his "unflinching commitment" to contain the fiscal deficit, at a time when the deficit in the first eight months of the fiscal year has touched 93.9% of the full-year target.

The government is facing a fall in tax collections and lower receipts from share sale in state-run companies on account of the worst economic slowdown in a decade.