Consider the following events: 1) The first democratically elected communist party government formed in a State in India. 2) India's then largest bank, 'Imperial Bank of India', was renamed 'State Bank of India'. 3) Air India was nationalised and became the national carrier. 4) Goa became a part of independent India. Which of the following is the correct chronological sequence of the above events?

The correct sequence is 3 - 2 - 1 - 4, so option B is right. Work from the dates: Air India was nationalised in 1953 under the Air Corporations Act, 1953. The Imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India on 1 July 1955 under the State Bank of India Act, 1955, after the government took a controlling stake. E.M.S. Namboodiripad's communist ministry took office in Kerala in April 1957, the first democratically elected communist government in the country. Goa was integrated into the Indian Union in December 1961 through Operation Vijay, after Portuguese rule ended.

Why the others fail: A and C place Goa (1961) first, which is far too early. D puts Kerala (1957) before the SBI renaming (1955), which reverses two events that are close in time.

The core concept is the sequence of economic and political consolidation in the 1950s, with the state taking control of key institutions. For Mains, this links to the nature of state-led development and the early experiments with democratic politics in states.

Trap: Aspirants often place Goa in 1947 with Independence, but Goa stayed under Portuguese control until 1961.