SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 9 September 2024, Shift 1 · General Awareness · Question 23 of 100

Text as printed on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; answer per SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 6 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. The questions and options here are reproduced as printed on a candidate's own response sheet for this shift — the Commission's text, unchanged. Each answer is SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet; SSC allowed challenges to it and never publishes a final key. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Who is the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu as of July 2023?

(a)KN Nehru
(b)Pinarayi Vijayan
(c)M Yedurappa
(d)MK Stalin

Answer

Why

Correct — D. MK Stalin has been Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since May 2021, when the DMK won the assembly election, so he held the office in July 2023, the date the stem fixes.

He is president of the DMK and the son of M Karunanidhi. Before this he served as Deputy Chief Minister of the state and, earlier still, as Mayor of Chennai.

Current-affairs stems are dated on purpose. Answer for the date printed, not for today.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
KN Nehru — KN Nehru is a DMK leader and a minister in the Tamil Nadu government, not its Chief Minister. Being a familiar cabinet name is what makes him usable as a distractor.
(b)
Pinarayi Vijayan — Pinarayi Vijayan is the Chief Minister of Kerala and leads the CPI(M) there. Right office, wrong state - the classic swap in a southern-names question.
(c)
M Yedurappa — The name meant is BS Yediyurappa of Karnataka, printed here as M Yedurappa. He had resigned as Karnataka's Chief Minister in July 2021, two years before the date in the stem.

Concept

A Chief Minister heads a state's council of ministers and is appointed by the Governor, who calls on the leader able to command a majority in the assembly.

The council is collectively responsible to the legislative assembly, so the government lasts exactly as long as that majority does.

Tamil Nadu's politics has run between the DMK and the AIADMK for decades, and MK Stalin took charge of the DMK after M Karunanidhi.

For the exam, store a Chief Minister with the party and the year of taking office, because the question always carries a date.

A stem worded as of July 2023 is written to survive the gap between paper-setting and exam day, so a later change of office does not make the keyed answer wrong.

Key facts

MK Stalin became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in May 2021.
He is the president of the DMK and the son of M Karunanidhi.
Pinarayi Vijayan is the Chief Minister of Kerala.
A Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor, and the ministry answers to the state assembly.

Study next

Appointment of the Chief Minister and the Governor's discretion under Article 164State council of ministers and the rule of collective responsibilityThe Tamil Nadu assembly election of 2021 and the parties contesting it

Common traps

Answering for today rather than for the date printed in the stem.
Matching the office to a neighbouring state's Chief Minister when every name in the options is southern.

SSC returns to the same office-holder in a different disguise - also asked 24 Sep 2024, 16:00, GA Q.14, which asks whose autobiography Ungalil Oruvan is and whose answer is again MK Stalin.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.