New Delhi, May 2 -- India's fiscal deficit target of 4.3 per cent for the current financial year may be difficult to achieve, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran warned on Saturday, as surging global energy and fertiliser prices driven by the escalating West Asia crisis pile fresh pressure on the country's finances.

Speaking at the ICPP Growth Conference organised by Ashoka University, Nageswaran said India was facing its "most difficult" energy shock in recent memory, and called on policymakers to build strategic buffers to protect the economy from the widening fallout of the conflict.

Since the West Asia war broke out on February 28, crude oil prices have rocketed to above USD 120 per barrel, a four-year high, up sharply...