40. Who presided over the inaugural session of the All India Trade Union Congress held in 1920?
[CGPSC Civil Services 2020 Official Paper 1]
A) Lala Lajpat Rai
B) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
C) Bipin Chandra Pal
D) Surendranath Banerjee
Answer: A) Lala Lajpat Rai
Explanation: Lala Lajpat Rai was the first President of the All India Trade Union Congress, established in Bombay in October 1920. AITUC became an important early federation of organised labour in India, linking nationalist politics with emerging worker movements.
39. Who made the first attempt to estimate the national income of India?
[RRB NTPC (28 Dec 2020, Shift 2)]
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) V. K. R. V. Rao
C) P. C. Mahalanobis
D) S. D. Tendulkar
Answer: A) Dadabhai Naoroji
Explanation: Dadabhai Naoroji made an early estimate of India’s national income in the nineteenth century, presenting it in his economic critique of colonial rule. Later economists such as V. K. R. V. Rao developed more systematic national-income estimation methods.
38. Who was the first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics?
[SSC CPO (24 Nov 2020, Shift 2)]
A) Har Gobind Khorana
B) C. V. Raman
C) Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
D) Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
Answer: B) C. V. Raman
Explanation: C. V. Raman received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the Raman effect, the change in wavelength of light scattered by matter. He was the first Indian Nobel Physics laureate, whereas Tagore’s earlier Nobel was in Literature. The alternatives in this paper refer to different people, records or offices and do not displace this historical first.
37. Who was the first Indian to win the Pulitzer Prize?
[SSC CPO (23 Nov 2020, Shift 1)]
A) Gobind Behari Lal
B) Geeta Anand
C) Sanghamitra Kalita
D) Jhumpa Lahiri
Answer: A) Gobind Behari Lal
Explanation: Gobind Behari Lal became the first Indian-born recipient of a Pulitzer Prize as part of a journalism team honoured in 1937. This predates the achievements of later Indian-origin Pulitzer winners in literature and other categories.
36. Which statement about Jaipal Singh is NOT correct?
[UPSC NDA GAT (6 Sept 2020)]
A) He was a member of the Constituent Assembly
B) He founded the Adivasi Maha Sabha
C) He captained the first Indian national hockey team
D) He campaigned for a separate Chhattisgarh state
Answer: D) He campaigned for a separate Chhattisgarh state
Explanation: Jaipal Singh Munda captained India’s hockey team at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, where India won its first Olympic hockey gold. He later championed Adivasi political representation and the demand for Jharkhand, not a separate state of Chhattisgarh.
35. Who was the first Education Minister of independent India?
[SSC CHSL (18 Mar 2020, Shift 3)]
A) Abul Kalam Azad
B) Triguna Sen
C) Pranab Mukherjee
D) Indira Gandhi
Answer: A) Abul Kalam Azad
Explanation: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was independent India’s first Education Minister, holding the portfolio from 1947 to 1958. He promoted university education, scientific learning and major cultural institutions. National Education Day on 11 November commemorates his birth.
34. Who became India’s first Chief of Defence Staff on 1 January 2020?
[SSC CHSL (18 Mar 2020, Shift 1)]
A) Bipin Rawat
B) Karambir Singh
C) Manoj Mukund Naravane
D) R. K. S. Bhadauria
Answer: A) Bipin Rawat
Explanation: General Bipin Rawat took office as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff on 1 January 2020. The position was established to improve coordination between the Army, Navy and Air Force and to advise on joint military matters. The important distinction is the inaugural achievement, not later national fame or service in a related position.
33. Who was the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize in Economics?
[WBCS Prelims 2020]
A) Abhijit Banerjee
B) Amartya Sen
C) V. K. R. V. Rao
D) T. N. Srinivasan
Answer: B) Amartya Sen
Explanation: Amartya Sen won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998 for contributions to welfare economics and social-choice theory. He was the first Indian citizen to receive that economics honour. Abhijit Banerjee received the prize later, in 2019.
32. Who led the first non-Congress government at the Centre?
[WBCS Prelims 2020]
A) Jayaprakash Narayan
B) Morarji Desai
C) Charan Singh
D) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Answer: B) Morarji Desai
Explanation: Morarji Desai became Prime Minister in March 1977 after the Janata Party defeated the Congress in the general election. He led India’s first non-Congress government at the Centre. His premiership ended in 1979 before a full five-year term. The alternatives in this paper refer to different people, records or offices and do not displace this historical first.
31. Who was the first Indian to qualify for the Indian Civil Service?
[UPSC NDA GAT (17 Nov 2019)]
A) Satyendranath Tagore
B) Surendranath Banerjee
C) R. C. Dutt
D) Subhas Chandra Bose
Answer: A) Satyendranath Tagore
Explanation: Satyendranath Tagore qualified for the Indian Civil Service in 1863 and became the first Indian to enter the service. A member of the Tagore family, he preceded later Indian entrants such as Surendranath Banerjee and Romesh Chunder Dutt. The alternatives in this paper refer to different people, records or offices and do not displace this historical first.
