When and where was the Central Electrochemical Research Institute established with the efforts of Alagappa Chettiar, Dr Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar and Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru?

Correct — option (2), Karaikudi, 1953.

The Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) is at Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu, and it was dedicated to the nation as a CSIR national laboratory in 1953.

CSIR-CECRI's own "About" page (as archived in 2019) says it was founded at Karaikudi on 25 July 1948, and that it "took roots in the patriotic fervour of RM. Alagappa Chettiar, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. Shanthi Swarup Bhatnagar".

The same page says that on 14 January 1953 "the institution became a reality when Dr. S. Radhakrishnan dedicated CSIR-CECRI, the 12th national laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), to the nation". Nehru laid the foundation stone.

So the institute has two dates: 1948 for its founding and 1953 for its dedication. Karaikudi appears only in option (2), which pairs it with 1953, the year RPSC's key accepts for "established".

CECRI: Karaikudi, founded 1948, dedicated to the nation in 1953.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  Lucknow, 1951 — Lucknow and 1951 belong to a different CSIR laboratory, the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI). Wikipedia's article on it says Prime Minister Nehru formally inaugurated it on 17 February 1951.

  CECRI, the electrochemical institute, is at Karaikudi, not Lucknow.

• (3)
  Chennai, 1948 — Chennai with 1948 fits the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), which Wikipedia says was founded in Chennai on 24 April 1948 as a CSIR laboratory.

  The year 1948 is also CECRI's founding year, but CECRI was founded at Karaikudi, not Chennai, and was dedicated to the nation in 1953.

• (4)
  Shivganga, 1953 — This option has the right year but names the district rather than the town. CECRI's page on Karaikudi places it "in Sivagangai District, Tamil Nadu".

  The institute itself stands at Karaikudi, which is the place CECRI names for its founding and dedication.

After independence, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) set up national laboratories across the country. CECRI, for electrochemistry, was dedicated as CSIR's 12th national laboratory in 1953.

Its site came from private generosity. Wikipedia's article on Alagappa Chettiar quotes S. Radhakrishnan at the 1953 inauguration: "The magnificent gift of 300 acres of land and fifteen lakhs of rupees by Alagappa Chettiar helped the Government of India to select Karaikudi".

Wikipedia's article on CLRI lists other laboratories of these years, such as the National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi and the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune.

Key facts

• CSIR-CECRI was founded at Karaikudi on 25 July 1948 (CECRI).
• On 14 January 1953, S. Radhakrishnan dedicated CECRI to the nation as CSIR's 12th national laboratory.
• CECRI names RM. Alagappa Chettiar, Jawaharlal Nehru and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar as the people behind it.
• Alagappa Chettiar gave 300 acres of land and fifteen lakh rupees, according to Radhakrishnan's 1953 speech.
• CDRI, Lucknow, was inaugurated on 17 February 1951, and CLRI, Chennai, was founded on 24 April 1948.

Common traps

• CECRI has two dates: founded on 25 July 1948 and dedicated to the nation on 14 January 1953.
• Sivagangai is the district and Karaikudi the town where the institute stands.
• Chennai and 1948 point to the leather institute (CLRI), and Lucknow and 1951 to the drug institute (CDRI).

UnlockIAS compared this question with questions from other RAS Prelims papers and found none similar enough to link.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Who dedicated CSIR-CECRI, Karaikudi, to the nation on 14 January 1953 ?

  • (a)S. Radhakrishnan
  • (b)Jawaharlal Nehru
  • (c)Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar
  • (d)Rajendra Prasad
  Answer(1) — CECRI's page says Dr. S. Radhakrishnan dedicated the institute to the nation on 14 January 1953. Option (2), Nehru, laid its foundation stone; option (3), Bhatnagar, is named among the people behind it; option (4), Rajendra Prasad, is not named in that account.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which CSIR laboratory was formally inaugurated at Lucknow on 17 February 1951 ?

  • (a)Central Drug Research Institute
  • (b)Central Electrochemical Research Institute
  • (c)Central Leather Research Institute
  • (d)National Chemical Laboratory
  Answer(1) — The Central Drug Research Institute at Lucknow was formally inaugurated by Nehru on 17 February 1951. Option (2), CECRI, is at Karaikudi; option (3), CLRI, is at Chennai; option (4), the National Chemical Laboratory, is at Pune.