80. In which year was the first World Happiness Report published?
[SSC Stenographer, 7 August 2025, Shift 1]
- (A) 2012
- (B) 2016
- (C) 2010
- (D) 2005
Answer: (A) 2012
Explanation: The inaugural World Happiness Report appeared in 2012, bringing attention to life evaluations and well-being as measures of social progress. Later editions developed comparative national rankings and analyses using survey responses alongside social and economic indicators.
79. Which country was the first to place Gross National Happiness above conventional economic growth as a national development philosophy?
[SSC Selection Post, Higher Secondary, 28 July 2025, Shift 2]
- (A) India
- (B) United States
- (C) Bhutan
- (D) China
Answer: (C) Bhutan
Explanation: Bhutan popularised Gross National Happiness under King Jigme Singye Wangchuck from the 1970s. Rather than assessing progress through output alone, the philosophy emphasises balanced development, environmental care, culture and good governance, alongside material well-being.
78. For which disease was the world’s first successful vaccine developed?
[CBSE Junior Assistant, 20 April 2025]
- (A) Diphtheria
- (B) Rabies
- (C) Influenza
- (D) Smallpox
Answer: (D) Smallpox
Explanation: Edward Jenner developed the first successful vaccine against smallpox in 1796 after investigating the protection associated with cowpox infection. This pioneering vaccination method helped establish immunology and contributed, over generations, to the global eradication of smallpox.
77. Which country elected the world’s first woman prime minister in the twentieth century?
[CBSE Junior Assistant, 20 April 2025]
- (A) Sri Lanka
- (B) New Zealand
- (C) England
- (D) Germany
Answer: (A) Sri Lanka
Explanation: Sirimavo Bandaranaike became Prime Minister of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, in July 1960. She was the first woman anywhere to head a government as prime minister, eventually serving three nonconsecutive terms in the office.
76. Which country became the world’s first industrial nation?
[DSSSB TGT Social Science, 7 November 2025, Shift 1]
- (A) France
- (B) Germany
- (C) United States
- (D) Britain
Answer: (D) Britain
Explanation: Britain industrialised first during the eighteenth-century Industrial Revolution. Coal, iron, mechanised textile production, investment and transport networks enabled factory-based manufacturing to expand. Industrialisation subsequently spread across Europe, North America and other regions.
75. In which year did India first win the Kabaddi World Cup?
[SSC JE Mechanical Engineering, 6 December 2025, Shift 2]
- (A) 2004
- (B) 2007
- (C) 2010
- (D) 2016
Answer: (A) 2004
Explanation: India won the inaugural 2004 Kabaddi World Cup, defeating Iran in the final. The title is associated with the international standard-style competition and should not be confused with later circle-style World Cup tournaments held under different formats.
74. Trygve Lie, the first UN Secretary-General, belonged to which country?
[CUET PG Political Science, 25 March 2025, Shift 1]
- (A) Austria
- (B) Sweden
- (C) Norway
- (D) Egypt
Answer: (C) Norway
Explanation: Trygve Lie of Norway was appointed the first Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1946. Serving during the organisation’s formative years, he helped establish the Secretariat and worked amid early Cold War disputes before being succeeded in 1953.
73. In which year was U Thant, the first Asian UN Secretary-General, appointed?
[UGC NET Political Science, 26 June 2025, Shift 2]
- (A) 1959
- (B) 1961
- (C) 1963
- (D) 1967
Answer: (B) 1961
Explanation: U Thant, a diplomat from Burma, now Myanmar, became acting UN Secretary-General in November 1961 after Dag Hammarskjöld’s death. His full appointment followed in 1962. He was the first Asian to lead the organisation’s Secretariat.
72. In which year was World Environment Day first celebrated?
[OSSSC Combined Recruitment Preliminary, 4 November 2025, Shift 3]
- (A) 1992
- (B) 1985
- (C) 2003
- (D) 1973
Answer: (D) 1973
Explanation: World Environment Day was established following the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment at Stockholm. Its first observance took place on 5 June 1973, beginning an annual international awareness campaign focused on environmental issues.
71. Arrange USA, Sri Lanka, Japan and India by the earliest dates used in the exam for their adoption of universal adult franchise.
[UPSC NDA-I GAT, 13 April 2025]
- (A) USA, Sri Lanka, Japan, India
- (B) Sri Lanka, Japan, India, USA
- (C) USA, Japan, India, Sri Lanka
- (D) Japan, India, USA, Sri Lanka
Answer: (A) USA, Sri Lanka, Japan, India
Explanation: The exam’s keyed sequence is USA, Sri Lanka, Japan and India. However, universal franchise has complex national histories: many early American voting restrictions persisted beyond 1920. The ordering reflects the paper’s conventional dates rather than an unqualified global suffrage comparison.
