Overview
- The Chief Economic Adviser released the Report of the Committee on Datasets for State Finance Commissions on Monday and said local data failures have left SFC reports too weak for the 16th Finance Commission to use.
- The report calls for Comptroller and Auditor General performance audits of funds to Panchayati Raj Institutions to produce state‑by‑state, function‑by‑function evidence of what was actually devolved.
- The CEA recommended introducing uniform accounting heads and permanent SFC data cells inside state finance or planning departments to make central transfers comparable across states.
- The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the 16th Finance Commission have proposed new fiscal instruments — a Rs 10,000 crore Urbanisation Premium for peri‑urban transition and Rs 87,000 crore in performance grants for panchayats — that depend on better data and audit to work effectively.
- The changes aim to reconnect constitutional promises of the 73rd Amendment with service delivery on the ground by improving oversight, standardising records and enabling evidence‑based fiscal devolution to strengthen local ease of living.