Who was honoured with Banga Bibhushan, the highest civilian award of West Bengal, in the year 2018?

Introduction / Context:
Banga Bibhushan is the highest civilian award conferred by the Government of West Bengal to honour outstanding contributions in various fields such as arts, culture and public service. In 2018, this honour was given to a legendary figure from the world of Indian music. This question checks your ability to recall exactly who received that distinction in that year.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The award is Banga Bibhushan, the top civilian honour of West Bengal. - The year in focus is 2018. - The options list famous personalities strongly associated with West Bengal or with Indian art and culture. - Only one of these names was chosen for Banga Bibhushan in 2018. - We assume official state government announcements and news reports as the reference.

Concept / Approach:
In 2018, the Government of West Bengal conferred Banga Bibhushan on playback legend Asha Bhosle for her lifetime contribution to Indian music. The other names in the list are also distinguished artists and intellectuals but either received the award in other years or received different honours. The approach is to remember the 2018 list and pick Asha Bhosle as the correct answer while ruling out the others.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Review the names provided and recognise that all of them are high profile cultural figures with strong connections to Bengal or Indian arts. Step 2: Recall that media reports in 2018 specifically highlighted Asha Bhosle receiving Banga Bibhushan for her long and influential singing career. Step 3: Understand that Aparna Sen, Victor Banerjee and Soumitra Chatterjee are acclaimed film personalities, and Amartya Sen is a Nobel laureate economist, but none of them match the 2018 Banga Bibhushan citation. Step 4: Check memory of state level awards in West Bengal and confirm that Asha Bhosle was the central figure in the 2018 honours list. Step 5: Therefore, the correct choice for this question is Asha Bhosle.

Verification / Alternative check:
Exam oriented current affairs capsules often include a short line stating that in 2018 the West Bengal government honoured Asha Bhosle with Banga Bibhushan. She is also frequently mentioned alongside lists of non Bengali artists who have received recognition from the state. Since none of the other options are typically paired with Banga Bibhushan 2018 in such notes, this cross check supports the conclusion.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A (Aparna Sen) is wrong because although she is an award winning director and actress, she is not the 2018 Banga Bibhushan recipient named in this question. Option B (Victor Banerjee) is wrong because he is a renowned actor but not the person honoured with Banga Bibhushan in 2018. Option C (Soumitra Chatterjee) is wrong because this legendary actor received other honours, and his Banga Bibhushan recognition belongs to a different context, not the year mentioned here. Option E (Amartya Sen) is wrong because the Nobel laureate is associated with other state and national recognitions and is not the Banga Bibhushan recipient for 2018.

Common Pitfalls:
One pitfall is to assume that because Banga Bibhushan is a West Bengal honour it must go primarily to Bengali film personalities, leading some candidates to choose Aparna Sen or Soumitra Chatterjee without checking the year. Another mistake is to confuse Banga Bibhushan with other titles such as Banga Bhushan or with national level awards. To avoid such errors, it is good practice to revise state honours along with the specific year and field of the recipient.

Final Answer:
In 2018, the Banga Bibhushan award was conferred on Asha Bhosle.