New Delhi, June 8 -- Incomplete financial records, siloed data systems and varying accounting standards across states have weakened the evidence base available to State Finance Commissions (SFCs), Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India V. Anantha Nageswaran said on Monday, stressing the need for reliable and timely data to strengthen fiscal decentralisation and improve local governance.

"Financial records are incomplete. Different departments hold information in silos that don't talk to each other. Accounting standards vary across states, making comparisons impossible. And successful Finance Commissions from the 13th to 16th have noted with increasing frustration that they cannot base their own recommendations on SFC reports b...