Nifty falls nearly 3 percent; food bill raises deficit concerns

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The NIfty fell nearly 3 percent as blue chip shares including HDFC Bank slumped on concerns that the passage of food security bill will weigh on the country's fiscal and current account deficits, raising fears of a sovereign rating downgrade.

The lower house of parliament approved a plan worth nearly $20 billion on Monday to provide cheap grain to the poor.

HDFC Bank Ltd fell 5.76 percent, while ITC Ltd lost 4 percent.

The broader Nifty was trading down 2.78 percent, while the benchmark BSE Sensex slumped 2.56 percent as of 1225 IST.