Who among the following was the Chairman of the First Finance Commission of India ?

The correct answer is B) Shri K. C. Neogy. He chaired the First Finance Commission, constituted in 1951 under Article 280 of the Constitution. Its report covered the period 1952-57 and laid the basic framework for sharing taxes and grants between the Union and the States.

Why the others are wrong:

• A) K. Santhanam chaired the Second Finance Commission (1956), not the First.
• C) Dr. P. V. Rajamannar (the 'Raj Mannar' in the option) chaired the Fourth Finance Commission (1964).
• D) A. K. Chanda chaired the Third Finance Commission (1960).

Core concept: Article 280 requires the President to constitute a Finance Commission at least every five years (or earlier if needed) to recommend the distribution of taxes and grants between the Centre and the States. For Mains, this is central to fiscal federalism and the debate on cooperative federalism. The 16th Finance Commission, chaired by Arvind Panagariya, is the current one.

Trap: Candidates often match names with the chairman's order by memory and get the sequence mixed up. Anchor each name to its commission number, since UPPSC repeats these chronology questions.