Who was the first Indian to travel into space?
- A.Rakesh Sharma
- B.Kalpana Chawla
- C.Ravish Malhotra
- D.Sunita Williams
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Rakesh Sharma. The Indian Air Force pilot flew aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11 in 1984 under a joint programme and spent about a week on the Salyut 7 space station, becoming the first Indian citizen in space.
Option B, Kalpana Chawla, was the first woman of Indian origin to go into space, flying with NASA in 1997, which is a different first and the commonest distractor here. Option C, Ravish Malhotra, was the back-up cosmonaut for the same 1984 mission and trained alongside Rakesh Sharma but did not fly, so he is placed in the options to catch a half-remembered fact. Option D, Sunita Williams, is an American astronaut of Indian origin known for her long-duration stays aboard the International Space Station. Read whether the stem asks for an Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin.
Read the full article: First in India: Men and Women in Office, Science and Sport
Practice Questions
View allWho was the first President of independent India?
- A.Jawaharlal Nehru
- B.Dr. Rajendra Prasad
- C.Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
- D.Dr. Zakir Husain
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He had presided over the Constituent Assembly that framed the Constitution and became the first President when the Constitution came into force in 1950.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first Indian to be awarded a Nobel Prize?
- A.C. V. Raman
- B.Mother Teresa
- C.Rabindranath Tagore
- D.Amartya Sen
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He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali and was the first Asian of any nationality to win a Nobel Prize, which is a second fact worth carrying.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India?
- A.Justice Leila Seth
- B.Justice M. Fathima Beevi
- C.Justice Ruma Pal
- D.Justice Sujata Manohar
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The correct answer is B, Justice M. Fathima Beevi, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1989, about four decades after the court began work, and later served as Governor of Tamil Nadu.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first woman Prime Minister of India?
- A.Pratibha Devisingh Patil
- B.Sarojini Naidu
- C.Indira Gandhi
- D.Sucheta Kripalani
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Who was the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest wartime gallantry award?
- A.Major Somnath Sharma
- B.Naik Jadunath Singh
- C.Captain Vikram Batra
- D.Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid
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He was decorated after his death for the action at Badgam in which his company held back the advance on the Srinagar airfield in November 1947, and his is the first name on the roll of the Param Vir Chakra.
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