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The first woman to hold the post of Finance Minister of India was:
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Answer: Option D — Indira Gandhi
Detailed Solution
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi held the finance portfolio from July 1969 to June 1970, and she was the first woman to hold the post of Finance Minister of India.
How it happened:
- Morarji Desai was the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister in Indira Gandhi's government.
- In July 1969, differences arose between them over economic policies, especially bank nationalisation.
- Indira Gandhi took away the finance portfolio from Morarji Desai, and he resigned from the government.
- Indira Gandhi then took charge of the Finance Ministry herself.
Major decision:
- Soon after taking charge, she announced the nationalisation of 14 major commercial banks on 19 July 1969, through an ordinance.
- This was one of the most important economic decisions of independent India.
Budget:
- As Finance Minister, she presented the Union Budget for 1970-71 in February 1970.
- She was the first woman to present a Union Budget.
First full-time woman Finance Minister:
- Nirmala Sitharaman became the first full-time woman Finance Minister of India in 2019.
- She has presented several Union Budgets, including the first paperless Budget in 2021.
Other firsts of Indira Gandhi:
- First and only woman Prime Minister of India.
- First woman to receive the Bharat Ratna, in 1971.
Other women firsts:
- Sucheta Kripalani: first woman Chief Minister (Uttar Pradesh, 1963).
- Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit: first woman President of the United Nations General Assembly (1953).
- Sarojini Naidu: first woman Governor (United Provinces).
- Pratibha Patil: first woman President.
- Meira Kumar: first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Nirmala Sitharaman was the first full-time woman Finance Minister, but not the first woman to hold the post.
- ✗Sucheta Kripalani and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit were firsts in other fields.
Quick tip
Remember: First woman Finance Minister = Indira Gandhi (1969 to 1970); first full-time = Nirmala Sitharaman (2019).
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Firsts in India & World — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Firsts in India & World, 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 the first persons and events in India and the world: the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize, the first woman to hold major offices, the first to climb Everest or reach space, and India's first institutions, newspapers, railways and satellites. It also covers the largest, longest, highest and smallest records in India and the world. These are pure memory questions, so revise them as short lists by theme: first women, first in sports, first in science and space, and first in governance. Be careful with the exact wording, such as 'first Indian' versus 'first person of Indian origin', or 'first woman President' versus 'first woman Prime Minister', since options are often designed to exploit this. Practise the firsts in India and the world 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.