The first cotton mill in British India which began production in 1856 was set up by
- (a)Ghanshyam Das Birla
- (b)Jamnalal Bajaj
- (c)Ambalal Sarabhai
- (d)C. N. Davar
Correct — D, C. N. Davar. The first cotton textile mill in British India — the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company at Tardeo, Bombay — was set up by Cowasji Nanabhai Davar (1815-73) and his associates in 1854, and it began production in 1856. This launched India's modern cotton-mill industry.
- (a)Ghanshyam Das Birla — G. D. Birla was a leading 20th-century industrialist (the Birla group), active decades after 1856 — not the founder of India's first cotton mill.
- (b)Jamnalal Bajaj — Jamnalal Bajaj was an early 20th-century industrialist and Gandhian; he has no connection with the 1856 Bombay mill.
- (c)Ambalal Sarabhai — Ambalal Sarabhai was an Ahmedabad textile magnate (Calico Mills) of the early 20th century and father of Vikram Sarabhai — decades after Davar's pioneering mill.
India's modern cotton-textile industry began in Bombay in the 1850s with C. N. Davar's mill. Bombay grew into the hub of the cotton-mill industry, helped by nearby raw cotton from the Deccan and its port; Ahmedabad later became a second major centre.
All four options are famous business names, but three — Birla, Bajaj and Sarabhai — belong to the 20th century. Anchoring on the date '1856' points to the mid-19th-century pioneer, C. N. Davar.
- The Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, the first cotton mill in British India, was founded by C. N. (Cowasji Nanabhai) Davar at Tardeo, Bombay, in 1854.
- It began production in 1856.
- Davar (1815-73) was a Parsi businessman; his mill launched India's modern cotton-mill industry, centred on Bombay.
- Birla, Bajaj and Sarabhai were 20th-century industrialists, unconnected with this first mill.
- Confusing the 19th-century pioneer (Davar) with 20th-century magnates (Birla, Bajaj, Sarabhai).
- Mixing up the first cotton mill (Bombay) with the first jute mill (Bengal).
Asked as straight factual recall: who set up the first cotton mill, in which city, or in which year.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The first cotton mill in India was established in which city?
- (a)Ahmedabad
- (b)Bombay
- (c)Calcutta
- (d)Nagpur
Answer(b) Bombay — Davar's Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company, 1854/1856.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Empress Mills, an early cotton textile mill set up at Nagpur in 1877, was founded by
- (a)C. N. Davar
- (b)J. N. Tata
- (c)G. D. Birla
- (d)Ambalal Sarabhai
Answer(b) J. N. Tata — Jamsetji Tata founded the Empress Mills at Nagpur in 1877.