Chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu today sounded confident the government will achieve its fiscal deficit target, but said if the number comes under pressure from factors like rise in commodity prices, it will have to go for reforms such as deregulating diesel prices.

"I do not really think the fiscal deficit will go out of control because we are sufficiently serious of our fiscal target," he said.

If it does come under pressure due to factors like international crude prices staying high, the government will look at "other" options, he said.

Elaborating on the other options the government can exercise, Basu said, "one that is talked about is diesel decontrol."

"May be if the pressure is sufficiently high and we feel that the fiscal deficit will go out of control, which will mean in the long run inflation will come back, we may be forced to say that now is the time, it is difficult, but now is the time to consider diesel deregulation."

"There are reforms of that kind which on their own may not happen...but before we let go on the fiscal consolidation targets, we will look at those reform possibilities," he said.

In his budget speech, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had lowered the fiscal deficit target to be 4.6 per cent of the GDP from last fiscal's 5.1 per cent.

However, a host of factors, notably the crude prices, which have consistently been over USD 100 a barrel, is leading to some scepticism whether the fiscal deficit target is achievable. .