Who among the following is the first woman Speaker in Lok Sabha?
- (a)Meira Kumar
- (b)Urmila Singh
- (c)Pratibha Patil
- (d)Sushma Swaraj
Correct — A, Meira Kumar. Elected on 4 June 2009 as the 15th Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar became the first woman ever to hold the office and served the full term of the 15th Lok Sabha (2009-2014). A five-time MP and former Indian Foreign Service officer, she is the daughter of former Deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram.
- (b)Urmila Singh — Urmila Singh served as Governor of Himachal Pradesh (2010-2015); she was never a Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
- (c)Pratibha Patil — Pratibha Patil was the first woman President of India (2007-2012), not a Lok Sabha Speaker — a common mix-up of two 'first woman' constitutional milestones.
- (d)Sushma Swaraj — Sushma Swaraj was Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and later External Affairs Minister, but she never held the office of Speaker.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over the House, is elected by its members (Article 93), and enjoys wide powers over debate, order and the certification of Money Bills. Meira Kumar's 2009 election made her the first woman to occupy this Chair in independent India's history.
The question mixes 'first woman' milestones across different offices to test precision: President (Pratibha Patil), Speaker (Meira Kumar) and other roles are deliberately jumbled. Candidates must match the exact office — Lok Sabha Speaker — to the exact person, Meira Kumar.
- Meira Kumar: 15th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (2009-2014); first woman Speaker; elected 4 June 2009.
- Sumitra Mahajan later became the second woman Speaker (16th Lok Sabha, 2014-2019).
- Pratibha Patil was the first woman President of India (2007-2012) — a different 'first woman' office.
- The Speaker is elected under Article 93 and vacates office only as provided in Article 94.
- Confusing 'first woman Speaker' (Meira Kumar) with 'first woman President' (Pratibha Patil)
- Assuming a prominent woman parliamentarian (e.g., Sushma Swaraj) must have been Speaker
UPPSC/UPSC repeatedly ask for constitutional-office 'firsts' by name, testing whether candidates match the exact office to the exact person.
Who among the following was never the Lok Sabha Speaker?
- (a) K. V. K. Sundaram
- (b) G. S. Dhillon
- (c) Baliram Bhagat
- (d) Hukum Singh
Answer(a) K. V. K. Sundaram
Both test identification of who did/did not hold the office of Lok Sabha Speaker.
Who was the Speaker of the First Lok Sabha?
- (a) Hukam Singh
- (b) G. V. Mavalankar
- (c) K. M. Munshi
- (d) U. N. Dhebar
Answer(b) G. V. Mavalankar
A parallel 'first Speaker of the Lok Sabha' question — same office, testing the person behind a Lok Sabha Speaker 'first'.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who was the first woman to be elected President of India?
- (a)Meira Kumar
- (b)Pratibha Patil
- (c)Droupadi Murmu
- (d)Sarojini Naidu
Answer(b) Pratibha Patil — first woman President of India (2007-2012).
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who was the second woman to hold the office of Speaker of the Lok Sabha?
- (a)Meira Kumar
- (b)Sumitra Mahajan
- (c)Sushma Swaraj
- (d)Najma Heptulla
Answer(b) Sumitra Mahajan — Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019).