History General Knowledge – GK Questions

History General Knowledge – GK Questions    

    Are you interested in history or are you preparing for competitive exams? Our “History General Knowledge – GK Questions” is designed to test and enhance your knowledge about important historical events, ancient cultures and important personalities. This quiz covers a wide range of topics from World History to Indian History, and provides a comprehensive learning experience.

History General Knowledge – GK Questions

    Each multiple choice question (MCQ) is carefully designed to help students, aspirants and history lovers enhance their understanding in a fun and interactive way. Whether you are preparing for UPSC, SSC, Banking exams or you have an interest in history, this quiz will challenge your knowledge and improve your memory.

History GK Questions – History of Indian Budget General Knowledge

 Question 1:
In which year was the first budget of India presented?
A) 1947
B) 1860
C) 1950
D) 1991
 Answer: B) 1860
 Explanation: The first budget of India was presented on 7 April 1860 by the British Finance Minister James Wilson. Hence he is called the “Father of Indian Budget System”.
 

Question 2:
Who presented the first budget of India after independence?
A) James Wilson
B) John Mathai
C) R. K. Shanmukham Chetty
D) Manmohan Singh
 Answer: C) R. K. Shanmukham Chetty
 Explanation: India’s first budget after independence was presented on 26 November 1947 by R. K. Shanmukham Chetty.
 

Question 3:
Who presented India’s first budget after the Constitution came into force?
A) James Wilson
B) R. K. Shanmukham Chetty
C) John Mathai
D) Nirmala Sitharaman
 Answer: C) John Mathai
 Explanation: Dr. John Mathai presented India’s first budget after the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950.
 

Question 4:
In which year was Value Added Tax (VAT) introduced for the first time in India?
A) 1991
B) 1957
C) 2000
D) 2017
 Answer: B) 1957
 Explanation: The concept of Value Added Tax (VAT) was introduced for the first time in the 1957 budget.
 

Question 5:
Which major economic reforms were implemented in the historic 1991 budget?
A) End of license raj
B) Promotion of foreign investment
C) Tax reforms
D) All of the above
 Answer: D) All of the above
 Explanation: The 1991 budget implemented liberalization, privatization, and globalization policies.
 

Question 6:
In which year was the decision taken to merge the Railway Budget and the General Budget?
A) 1991
B) 2017
C) 2005
D) 2021
 Answer: B) 2017
 Explanation: The Railway Budget and the General Budget were merged in 2017, making the entire budget process easier and more effective.

Question 7:
In which year was India’s first paperless budget presented?
A) 2021
B) 2019
C) 2017
D) 2023
 Answer: A) 2021
 Explanation: In 2021, Nirmala Sitharaman presented India’s first digital and paperless budget.
 

Question 8:
What is the name of the organization responsible for the fiveyear plans in India’s budget?
A) Reserve Bank of India
B) NITI Aayog
C) Planning Commission
D) Ministry of Finance
 Answer: C) Planning Commission
 Explanation: After the 1950 budget, the Planning Commission was established, which was responsible for the implementation of the five year plans.

 Question 9
Which component does the process of presenting the budget in India fall under?
A) Judiciary
B) Executive Branch
C) Legislature
D) Election Commission
 Answer: B) Executive Branch
 Explanation: In India, the budget is presented in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister on behalf of the executive branch.
 

Question 10
What was the important issue of the first budget presented after independence?
A) New tax system
B) Economic stability
C) Agricultural reforms
D) Export policy
 Answer: B) Economic stability
 Explanation: The 1947 budget emphasized the economic stability of the country, as India was just dealing with the consequences of partition.

Question 11
Into which components is the budget of the Central Government divided?
A) Revenue Budget and Capital Budget
B) Direct and Indirect Taxes
C) Economic Policy and Social Policy
D) All of the above
 Answer: A) Revenue Budget and Capital Budget
 Explanation: The budget of India consists of two parts namely Revenue Budget and Capital Budget.

Question 12
Under which article of the Indian Constitution is the budget of India prepared?
A) Article 112
B) Article 120
C) Article 280
D) Article 324
 Answer: A) Article 112
 Explanation: According to Article 112 of the Constitution of India, the Union Budget is called the “Annual Financial Statement”.

Question 13
Who became the first woman Union Finance Minister?
A) Indira Gandhi
B) Nirmala Sitharaman
C) Pratibha Patil
D) Sushma Swaraj
 Answer: A) Indira Gandhi
 Explanation: Indira Gandhi presented the budget as the first woman Union Finance Minister of India in 197071.

Question 14
What does the “P” in the LPG policy implemented in India in 1991 mean?
A) Production
B) Protection
C) Privatization
D) Public
 Answer: C) Privatization
 Explanation: The LPG (Liberalization, Privatization, Globalization) policy was adopted in the economic reforms of 1991.

Question 15
In which year was the first “Central GST (CGST)” implemented in India?
A) 2000
B) 2010
C) 2017
D) 2021
 Answer: C) 2017
 Explanation: Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented in India from 1 July 2017, which was a major change in the indirect tax system.

Question 16
On which day is the “Union Budget” usually presented?
A) 26 January
B) 15 August
C) 1 February
D) 31 March
 Answer: C) 1 February
 Explanation: From 2017, the Union Budget is presented on 1 February. Earlier, it was presented on 28 February.

Question 17
In which year was the “Black Budget” presented?
A) 1947
B) 1991
C) 1973
D) 2019
 Answer: C) 1973
 Explanation: The budget presented in 197374 was called the “Black Budget” because it included a large fiscal deficit.

Question 18
The first budget of 1860 in India was presented during the tenure of which Governor General?
A) Lord Curzon
B) Lord Canning
C) Lord Mountbatten
D) Lord Dalhousie
 Answer: B) Lord Canning
 Explanation: The first budget of 1860 was presented by James Wilson during the time of Lord Canning.

Question 19
In which year did the practice of presenting Railway Budget and General Budget separately start in India?
A) 1860
B) 1924
C) 1947
D) 2017
 Answer: B) 1924
 Explanation: The practice of presenting Railway Budget and General Budget separately started in 1924, which ended in 2017.

Question 20
In which part of the Parliament is the budget of India presented?
A) Lok Sabha
B) Rajya Sabha
C) Rashtrapati Bhavan
D) Supreme Court
 Answer: A) Lok Sabha
 Explanation: The budget is first presented in the Lok Sabha and is approved after discussion.

Question 21
Which Finance Minister gave the longest budget speech in the history of India?
A) Arun Jaitley
B) Manmohan Singh
C) Nirmala Sitharaman
D) Pranab Mukherjee
 Answer: C) Nirmala Sitharaman
 Explanation: Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a speech of 2 hours and 42 minutes in the 2020 budget, which became the longest budget speech in the history of India.

Question 22
What was the reason for presenting India’s first digital and paperless budget?
A) Economic slowdown
B) Impact of Corona
C) Adoption of new technology
D) GST reforms
 Answer: B) Impact of Corona
 Explanation: India’s first paperless budget was presented in 2021 in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic.

Question 23
In which year was the first live telecast of the Budget started in India?
A) 1987
B) 1991
C) 1995
D) 2000
 Answer: A) 1987
 Explanation: In 1987, R. Venkataraman, the then Finance Minister of Rajiv Gandhi government, started the first live telecast of the Budget in Parliament.

Question 24
Where was the first printing of the Indian Budget?
A) North Block, New Delhi
B) Railway Bhavan
C) Ministry of Finance, Kolkata
D) Rashtrapati Bhavan
 Answer: C) Ministry of Finance, Kolkata
 Explanation: India’s first budget was printed in Kolkata before independence, but since 1950 the budget has been printed in North Block, New Delhi.

Question 25
What is the official name of the Indian budget?
A) Union Finance Report
B) Annual Financial Statement
C) National Economic Policy
D) Economic Survey
 Answer: B) Annual Financial Statement
 Explanation: According to Article 112 of the Constitution of India, the budget is called the “Annual Financial Statement”.

Question 26
Under the leadership of which minister were the historic economic reforms of 1991 carried out in India?
A) Pranab Mukherjee
B) P. Chidambaram
C) Manmohan Singh
D) Yashwant Sinha
 Answer: C) Manmohan Singh
 Explanation: In 1991, under the leadership of the then Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao, Dr. Manmohan Singh presented economic reforms (Liberalization, Privatization, Globalization  LPG) in the budget.

Question 27
What was the expenditure of the first budget after independence?
A) ₹197 crore
B) ₹382 crore
C) ₹1,000 crore
D) ₹5,000 crore
 Answer: B) ₹382 crore
 Explanation: The expenditure of the first budget presented by R. K. Shanmukham Chetty in 1947 was ₹382 crore.

Question 28
What colour briefcase was the budget in India brought in?
A) Red
B) Black
C) Blue
D) White
 Answer: A) Red
 Explanation: According to British tradition, it was the tradition for Indian Finance Ministers to bring the budget in red coloured briefcase. However, from 2019 Nirmala Sitharaman started the ‘Red Cloth Folder’ method.

Question 29
In which year was the practice of presenting the Railway Budget separately discontinued?
A) 2000
B) 2014
C) 2017
D) 2020
 Answer: C) 2017
 Explanation: The Railway Budget was being presented separately since 1924, but in 2017, Arun Jaitley combined the General and Railway Budgets.

Question 30
Why was the first paperless budget presented in 2021 important?
A) COVID19 pandemic
B) Environment protection campaign
C) Part of Digital India scheme
D) All of the above
 Answer: D) All of the above
 Explanation: In 2021, Nirmala Sitharaman presented the first fully digital budget. This step was taken towards COVID19, environment protection, and Digital India scheme.

Question 31
Who gave the shortest budget speech in India?
A) Rajiv Gandhi
B) Yashwant Sinha
C) Hirubhai Patel
D) Morarji Desai
 Answer: C) Hirubhai Patel
 Explanation: Hirubhai Patel gave the shortest budget speech of just 20 minutes in 1977.

Question 32
Who prepared the first budget presented in 1950?
A) R. K. Shanmukham Chetty
B) John Mathai
C) C. D. Deshmukh
D) Morarji Desai
 Answer: B) John Mathai
 Explanation: The first Union Budget after the implementation of the Indian Constitution was presented by Dr. John Mathai on 26 January 1950 later.