Who became the first woman to be appointed as Secretary General of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament?

Introduction / Context:
This question concerns Indian polity and parliamentary administration. The Secretary General of the Lok Sabha is the top administrative officer of the lower house of Parliament, responsible for procedural advice and overall secretariat management. Exam setters often ask about first women in key constitutional or parliamentary positions, and here they focus on the first woman Secretary General of the Lok Sabha.

Given Data / Assumptions:

We need to identify the first woman appointed as Secretary General of the Lok Sabha.
Options are Rama Devi, Sumitra Mahajan, Anupama Kare, and Snehlata Shrivastava.
We assume that the question refers to the appointment notified by the Lok Sabha Secretariat in recent years.
The role is an administrative post distinct from the Speaker of the House.

Concept / Approach:
The approach is to recall that Snehlata Shrivastava, a senior officer, was appointed as the first woman Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. The other names in the options refer either to different positions or to fictional distractors. Sumitra Mahajan, for example, served as Speaker of the Lok Sabha, which is a different constitutional office.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise that the Secretary General is an administrative and procedural head, and the question is about the first woman in this specific post. Step 2: Recall that Snehlata Shrivastava was appointed as Secretary General of the Lok Sabha and noted in news as the first woman to hold this position. Step 3: Compare the options and identify Snehlata Shrivastava as the only name which matches this fact. Step 4: Remember that Sumitra Mahajan served as Speaker and is therefore not the answer for Secretary General. Step 5: Eliminate the other options and mark Snehlata Shrivastava.

Verification / Alternative check:
Official press releases from the Lok Sabha Secretariat and standard current affairs summaries mention that Snehlata Shrivastava took over as Secretary General of the Lok Sabha and was described as the first woman to hold that office. Parliamentary reference works and government information portals confirm this, ensuring that there is no confusion with other female office holders in Parliament.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Rama Devi is the name of a former pro term Speaker and also of a former Governor, but she is not recorded as Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. Sumitra Mahajan was the Speaker, a prestigious elected post, not the administrative Secretary General. Anupama Kare in this context is not associated with the Lok Sabha Secretariat at this level. Therefore, none of these names correctly answer the question.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes mix up the roles of Speaker and Secretary General and may wrongly choose Sumitra Mahajan because she is a well known female figure connected with the Lok Sabha. Others may guess based solely on familiarity with a name rather than the exact post. To avoid this, aspirants should clearly distinguish between elected presiding officers and appointed secretariat officials.

Final Answer:
The first woman to be appointed as Secretary General of the Lok Sabha was Snehlata Shrivastava.