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Question 42 of 60 · Constitutional & Statutory Bodies
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The first woman Chief Election Commissioner of India was:

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Answer: Option D — V.S. Ramadevi

Detailed Solution

Ramadevi. V.S. Ramadevi was the first and so far the only woman to serve as Chief Election Commissioner of India. She held the office for a short period, from 26 November 1990 to 11 December 1990.

About V.S. Ramadevi:

  • Vadlamannati Sundara Ramadevi was born in 1934 in Andhra Pradesh.
  • She was a legal expert and served in the Ministry of Law.
  • She was the first woman Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha, from 1993 to 1997.
  • Later, she served as Governor of Himachal Pradesh and Governor of Karnataka.

Why her tenure was short:

She held the office of Chief Election Commissioner for only about 16 days, as an interim arrangement, before T.N. Seshan took over in December 1990.

The Chief Election Commissioner:

  • The Chief Election Commissioner heads the Election Commission of India under Article 324.
  • The Election Commission conducts elections to Parliament, state legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President.
  • The CEC can be removed only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.
  • A law passed in 2023 lays down the procedure for selecting the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners through a selection committee.

Other women firsts in India:

  • Sucheta Kripalani was the first woman Chief Minister.
  • Indira Gandhi was the first woman Prime Minister.
  • Pratibha Patil was the first woman President.
  • Meira Kumar was the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
  • Kiran Bedi was the first woman IPS officer.
  • Sushma Swaraj was the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi.

Women in election administration:

Many women officers have served as state Chief Electoral Officers and in senior positions in the Election Commission.

Importance of the Election Commission:

It is a permanent and independent constitutional body that ensures free and fair elections.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Kiran Bedi was the first woman IPS officer.
  • ✗Sushma Swaraj was a senior political leader and External Affairs Minister.
  • ✗Najma Heptulla was Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

Quick tip

Remember: First woman Chief Election Commissioner = V.S. Ramadevi (1990, about 16 days); succeeded by T.N. Seshan.

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Constitutional & Statutory Bodies — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Constitutional & Statutory Bodies, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers bodies set up under the Constitution, such as the Election Commission, UPSC, Finance Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General and the national commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and statutory or executive bodies such as NITI Aayog, the NHRC, the CVC, the CBI and Lokpal. Questions often ask whether a body is constitutional or not, which article creates it, who appoints its head and for how long. For example, the CAG is appointed under Article 148, the Finance Commission under Article 280, and NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2015 by an executive resolution. Practise the constitutional and statutory bodies questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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