First state to switch to the January-December financial year

Madhya Pradesh Becomes First State With January to December Fiscal Year

Question: Recently which of the following states became the first state to switch to ‘January-December financial year’ from the existing ‘April-March cycle’?
(a) Uttarakhand
(b) Madhya Pradesh
(c) Uttar Pradesh
(d) Maharashtra
Ans(b)
Related facts:

  • On May 02, 2017, Madhya Pradesh became the first state to switch to January-December financial year from the existing April-March cycle.
  • It may be recalled that the central government had constituted a high-level committee under former Chief Economic Advisor Shanker Acharya to examine “desirability and feasibility” of having a new financial year.
  • The April-March financial year has been followed in India since 1867 from the time of the British Raj.
  • It was adopted to coincide with the British financial year.
  • Prior to that, India’s financial year was May-April.

Reference:
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/shivraj-singh-chouhan-niti-aayog-prime-minister-narendra-modi-budget-madhya-pradesh-changes-financial-year-to-january-december-from-2018-4637340/
http://www.news18.com/news/india/madhya-pradesh-becomes-first-state-with-january-to-december-fiscal-year-1389913.html
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/mp-becomes-first-state-to-formally-shift-to-january-december-financial-year-117050200763_1.html