Every free question on Persons in News & Appointments (Current Affairs & General Knowledge) from past WBCS Preliminary Examination and WBCS Main Examination papers, newest first, each with its answer and a short explanation. Free to read.
Answer: (A) Nandini Gupta
Nandini Gupta from Kota, Rajasthan, won Femina Miss India 2023 at Imphal. Shreya Poonja was the first runner-up and Strela Luwang the second runner-up.
Answer: (A) Manoj Soni
Answer as of 2022 — this may have changed since.
At the time of the exam (June 2022) Dr Manoj Soni was heading the UPSC; he took charge in April 2022 on the completion of Pradeep Kumar Joshi's term and was formally sworn in as Chairman in May 2023. Arvind Saxena (2018-20) and Vinay Mittal (2018) were earlier Chairmen. Later update: Soni resigned in 2024, Preeti Sudan succeeded him, and Ajay Kumar became Chairman in May 2025. Polity link: UPSC is set up under Article 315; the Chairman is appointed by the President and holds office for 6 years or up to the age of 65.
Answer: (A) Campbell Wilson
Answer as of 2022 — this may have changed since.
Tata Sons, which took back Air India from the Government in January 2022, named New Zealand-born Campbell Wilson (then CEO of Scoot, the low-cost arm of Singapore Airlines) as CEO and MD in May 2022, after Ilker Ayci of Turkish Airlines declined the post. Ajay Singh is the Chairman and MD of SpiceJet, and Alan Joyce was the CEO of Qantas. Background: Air India was founded by J.R.D. Tata as Tata Airlines in 1932 and nationalised in 1953. Later update: Wilson announced his resignation in April 2026, staying on until a successor is named.
Answer: (C) 101st
Satyajit Ray was born on 2 May 1921, so his birth centenary (100th) fell in 2021 and the anniversary in 2022 was the 101st ($2022 - 1921 = 101$). Key facts: first film Pather Panchali (1955), the Apu Trilogy, creator of Feluda and Professor Shonku, Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1984), and both the Bharat Ratna and an Honorary Oscar in 1992, the year of his death.
Answer: (B) Rajiv Kumar
Answer as of 2022 — this may have changed since.
Rajiv Kumar took charge as the 25th Chief Election Commissioner on 15 May 2022, succeeding Sushil Chandra; the other names are made-up look-alikes of these two. Later update: Rajiv Kumar retired in February 2025 and Gyanesh Kumar became the 26th CEC. Polity link: the Election Commission is set up under Article 324; the CEC can be removed only in the manner of a Supreme Court judge, and the first CEC was Sukumar Sen.
Answer: (A) Manik Saha
Answer as of 2022 — this may have changed since.
Dr Manik Saha, a dental surgeon and then a Rajya Sabha member, was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tripura on 15 May 2022 after Biplab Kumar Deb resigned; he continued in office after the 2023 Assembly election. Jishnu Dev Varma was the Deputy Chief Minister (later Governor of Telangana), N. C. Debbarma led the ally IPFT, and Ratan Lal Nath was a cabinet minister. Capital of Tripura: Agartala.
Answer: (C) Taranjit Singh Sandhu
Answer as of 2022 — this may have changed since.
Taranjit Singh Sandhu was India's Ambassador to the United States at the time of the exam; he had taken charge in February 2020, succeeding Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who became Foreign Secretary (the first option is a twisted form of that name). S. Jaishankar was Ambassador to the US in 2013-15 and is now External Affairs Minister; Vijay Gokhale was Foreign Secretary in 2018-20. Later update: Sandhu retired in January 2024 and Vinay Mohan Kwatra took over later that year.
Answer: (B) Sushil Chandra
Answer as of 2021 — this may have changed since.
Sushil Chandra, a 1980-batch IRS officer and former CBDT chairman, became the 24th Chief Election Commissioner on 13 April 2021, succeeding Sunil Arora, and served until 14 May 2022, when Rajiv Kumar took over (Gyanesh Kumar followed in February 2025). 'Sunil Chandra' is a distractor blending the names Sunil Arora and Sushil Chandra; Gen. Anil Chauhan later became Chief of Defence Staff (2022). The first CEC was Sukumar Sen. The 'present CEC' changes with time, so check the current name before an exam.
Answer: (B) Nirmala Sitaraman
Answer as of 2020 — this may have changed since.
Nirmala Sitharaman was the Union Finance Minister (as of this paper) at the time this question was set (2019-2020).
Answer: (B) Geraldine Ford
This is a play on words: Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge and James Buchanan were all genuine US Presidents. "Geraldine Ford", however, is not a real historical figure — the actual 38th US President was Gerald Ford, a man; "Geraldine Ford" as named never existed and so, quite literally, never became President.
Answer: (A) Millie Bobby Brown
Answer as of 2019 — this may have changed since.
Actress Millie Bobby Brown was named UNICEF's youngest-ever Goodwill Ambassador in November 2018, at age 14, to advocate for children's rights globally.
Answer: (C) Sanjay Kothari
Answer as of 2018 — this may have changed since.
Sanjay Kothari, a retired IAS officer of the Haryana cadre and former chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board, was appointed Secretary to the President in July 2017, when Ram Nath Kovind took office as the 14th President (25 July 2017). Kothari later became the Central Vigilance Commissioner in 2020. The post changes with each President, so treat this as a period fact.
Answer: (D) Singapore
George Yeo, a former Singaporean Foreign Minister, served as Chancellor of the revived Nalanda University before resigning from the post.
Answer: (A) Srilanka
Answer as of 2015 — this may have changed since.
Maithripala Sirisena was elected as the seventh President of Sri Lanka on January 8, 2015, defeating incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa. He assumed office on January 9, 2015. This was a current affairs question at the time of the 2015 exam.
Answer: (C) A. Surya Prakash
Answer as of 2015 — this may have changed since.
A. Surya Prakash was appointed as the new Chairman of Prasar Bharti Board on October 28, 2014 for a three-year term. He was subsequently appointed for a second consecutive term until February 2020. Prasar Bharti is India's public broadcasting corporation overseeing Doordarshan and All India Radio.
