India on Tuesday revised upwards its estimate of the federal fiscal deficit for the current financial year ending March to 5.1 percent of GDP from an earlier forecast of 4.7 percent. It also raised the estimate for the 2000/01 (April-March) fiscal deficit to 5.5 percent of GDP from an earlier projection of 5.1 percent. Both revisions were contained in the 2001/02 Economic Survey, an annual report credit on the economy, which was presented to parliament earlier in the day. The Survey said the combined fiscal deficits of the federal and state governments totalled 9.6 percent of GDP in 2000/01, causing the combined public debt to reach 85 percent of GDP in 2001. The revision in the fiscal deficit to GDP ratios also reflected changes made to economic growth forecasts, the Survey said. Earlier this month, the government slashed its 2000/01 GDP growth estimate to 4.0 percent from 5.2 percent. It pegged growth in the current financial year at 5.4 percent, down from earlier projections of 6.5 percent. The Survey expressed concern over the fiscal situation and said interest payments, subsidies and pension payments the revenue deficit had risen in recent years, diverting scarce resources and severely constraining the government's ability to make investments in infrastructure and social sectors. "Inadequate fiscal adjustment continues to be the most intractable problem confronting the Indian economy," it said. The Economic Survey is an annual report on the economy presented to parliament ahead of the federal budget. Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha is due to present the federal budget for 2002/03 to parliament on Thursday, against a background of sluggish economic growth. GDP growth slumped to four percent in 2000/01 from 6.1 percent a year earlier. The economy is expected to expand by 5.4 percent in the current financial year. Bureau Report