First in India (Women) — Set 2

Correct Answer: C. Vijayalakshmi Pandit

• **Vijayalakshmi Pandit** = Vijayalakshmi Pandit was the first woman President of the United Nations General Assembly. • **1953** — elected President of the UN General Assembly. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Margaret Thatcher: Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Indira Gandhi: First woman Prime Minister of India; Golda Meir: Former Prime Minister of Israel.

Correct Answer: C. Ashapoorna Devi

• **Ashapoorna Devi** = Ashapoorna Devi was the first woman to win the Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary honor. • **1976** — won the Jnanpith Award for her novel 'Pratham Pratishruti'. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Mahasweta Devi: Won the Jnanpith Award in 1996; Amrita Pritam: Second woman to win Jnanpith Award (1981); Mahadevi Varma: Won the Jnanpith Award in 1982.

Correct Answer: A. Kiran Bedi

• **Kiran Bedi** = Kiran Bedi was the first woman IPS officer in India. • **1972** — joined the Indian Police Service. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya: Second woman IPS officer, and first woman Director General of Police; Archana Ramasundaram: First woman to be Director General of Police in a paramilitary force; Meera Borwankar: Known as India's 'Lady Singham'.

Correct Answer: D. Arati Saha

• **Arati Saha** = Arati Saha was the first Indian woman to swim across the English Channel. • **1959** — successfully swam across the English Channel. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Bula Choudhury: First woman to swim across the Seven Seas; Anita Sood: Another prominent Indian long-distance swimmer; Shikha Tandon: Olympian swimmer, specialized in short distance events.

Correct Answer: C. Mother Teresa

• **Mother Teresa** = Mother Teresa was the first woman from India to win the Nobel Peace Prize. • **1979** — awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Indira Gandhi: Received Bharat Ratna, not Nobel Peace Prize; Aung San Suu Kyi: Nobel Peace laureate from Myanmar; Malala Yousafzai: Nobel Peace laureate from Pakistan.

Correct Answer: C. Arundhati Roy

• **Arundhati Roy** = She was the first Indian woman to win the Booker Prize. • **1997** — She won for her debut novel 'The God of Small Things' in this year. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Anita Desai: was a Booker Prize nominee multiple times but never won; Kiran Desai: won the Booker Prize in 2006, not the first Indian woman; Jhumpa Lahiri: is a Pulitzer Prize winner, not a Booker Prize winner.

Correct Answer: D. Kalpana Chawla

• **Kalpana Chawla** = She was the first Indian-origin woman to go into space. • **1997** — She made her first space flight on the Space Shuttle Columbia in this year. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Sunita Williams: is an American astronaut of Indian descent, but not the first Indian woman in space; Swati Mohan: is an aerospace engineer known for her role in the Mars 2020 mission; Sirisha Bandla: flew to space on a Virgin Galactic flight in 2021, not the first.

Correct Answer: C. Meira Kumar

• **Meira Kumar** = She was the first woman to serve as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. • **2009 to 2014** — She held the position of Speaker during the 15th Lok Sabha in this period. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Sumitra Mahajan: was the second woman Speaker of Lok Sabha; Najma Heptulla: served as Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha, not Lok Sabha Speaker; Pratibha Patil: was the first woman President of India, not Lok Sabha Speaker.

Correct Answer: C. Pratibha Patil

• **Pratibha Patil** = She served as the 12th President of India and was the first woman to hold this office. • **2007 to 2012** — She held the highest constitutional office in the country during this period. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Droupadi Murmu: is the current President, the second woman and first tribal woman, but not the first; Indira Gandhi: was the first woman Prime Minister of India, not President; Sarojini Naidu: was the first Indian woman President of the Indian National Congress and first woman Governor of an Indian state.

Correct Answer: C. Anju Bobby George

• **Anju Bobby George** = She was the first Indian woman to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships. • **2003** — She won a bronze medal in the long jump in Paris in this year. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Hima Das: is a gold medalist in the World U20 Championships, but not the senior World Athletics Championships; P. T. Usha: is a legendary athlete but did not win a medal at the World Athletics Championships; Seema Punia: is a discus thrower who has won medals at Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, but not the World Athletics Championships.