Fiscal deficit will be contained at 4.8 pct of GDP - FM

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's fiscal deficit will be contained at 4.8 percent 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 percent 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.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; editing by Malini Menon)