Which one of the following was successfully launched by India in December 2014?

The correct answer is A) GSLV-III. On 18 December 2014, ISRO flew the GSLV Mk III developmental test vehicle (GSLV Mk III-X) from Sriharikota. It was a suborbital test carrying a 3.7-tonne crew module atmospheric re-entry experiment (CARE) to check the cryogenic upper stage, the heavy-lift design and re-entry systems. It was a test flight, not an operational satellite mission. The vehicle has since been renamed LVM3, so the name GSLV-III is now dated.

• B) GSLV-F07: This designation does not match the December 2014 flight. GSLV-F06 and later flights belong to other years, so this is not the December 2014 launch.
• C) GSLV-D5: This was flown on 5 January 2014 and carried GSAT-14. It is a 2014 launch, but not December.
• D) PSLV-C9: This flight was in April 2008 and carried CARTOSAT-2A along with several foreign nano-satellites.

The core concept is the progress of India's indigenous heavy-lift launch capability, which links to the space technology and self-reliance themes in GS-III and to the cost of launching heavy communication satellites.

Trap: Candidates often pick the most recent or most familiar vehicle name. Check the month and year against the mission history, and be aware that a test flight may not be an operational satellite launch.