Famous Personalities Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The Scottish National Party swept Scotland in the 2015 general election.

It took 56 of Scotland's 59 seats, up from six, largely at Labour's expense, in the year after the independence referendum. David Cameron's Conservatives won an overall majority across the United Kingdom.

Answer: C

Yves Saint Laurent was a renowned fashion designer.

The French couturier introduced the trouser suit for women, Le Smoking, and the Mondrian dress, and was among the first to use ready-to-wear as a serious form. He died in 2008.

Answer: C

Teachers' Day marks the birthday of Dr S. Radhakrishnan.

It is observed on 5 September, his birthday. A philosopher who taught at Mysore, Calcutta and Oxford, he became the second President of India, and asked that the day be kept as Teachers' Day rather than as his birthday.

Answer: A

M. Natarajan was Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister.

He held the post from 2009 to 2013 and was also Director General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D.

Answer: B

Arvind Panagariya was the first Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog.

He took the post when NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015, and served until 2017, when Rajiv Kumar succeeded him. The Prime Minister is the Aayog's chairperson.

Answer: A

Phu Dorjee scaled Mount Everest.

In May 1984 he became the first Indian to reach the summit solo and without supplementary oxygen. He died the following year in an avalanche on Kanchenjunga.

Answer: A

Boris Tadic took over as President of Serbia.

He won re-election in February 2008, defeating the nationalist Tomislav Nikolic, and pursued Serbia's application to join the European Union. Novak Djokovic is a tennis player and Samak Sundaravej was Prime Minister of Thailand.

Answer: C

Bachendri Pal became famous in mountaineering.

On 23 May 1984 she became the first Indian woman to reach the summit of Everest. She later led the Indian Women's Trans-Himalayan Expedition of 1997 and received the Padma Bhushan in 2019.

Answer: B

The true statement is that she was the first woman Governor in independent India.

Sarojini Naidu was Governor of the United Provinces from 1947 until her death in 1949. Annie Besant, not she, was the first woman President of the Congress - Naidu was the first Indian woman to hold that office, in 1925. The Golden Bough is by James Frazer; Naidu wrote The Golden Threshold.

Answer: A

A.S. Kiran Kumar succeeded K. Radhakrishnan as Chairman of ISRO.

He took office in January 2015 and served until January 2018. His tenure covered the record launch of 104 satellites on a single PSLV in February 2017.