Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said, the government will borrow more to fund a fiscal deficit that is now estimated at 5.3 per cent of GDP this fiscal year. Speaking to a news agency in Mexico City, Mr Chidambaram said, the additional borrowing above the previous target of 5.1 per cent will amount to at least 200 billion rupees .

Previously the government had pegged gross market borrowing for the current fiscal year at 106.04 billion US dollar to finance a fiscal deficit that was originally projected at 5.1 per cent.

Last month, sluggish tax revenues and high spending on subsidies such as food, fuel and fertilizer forced the government to revise up the deficit target to 5.3 per cent.