Step 1: Understanding the Question.
The question asks about the person who headed the task force that first recommended a GST for India.
Step 2: Recall the history of GST.
In 2000, the Vajpayee government started work on a GST model.
In 2003, the Task Force on Indirect Taxes was set up under Dr. Vijay Kelkar. It recommended a comprehensive GST on goods and services to replace many separate indirect taxes.
The GST was finally introduced on 1 July 2017.
Step 3: Why the other options are wrong.
Narendra Modi was the Prime Minister when GST was launched in 2017, but he did not head the task force.
Nirmala Sitharaman is the Finance Minister who chairs the GST Council in recent years, not the task force head.
Rajiv Gandhi was a former Prime Minister and had no role in this task force.
Final Answer:
Dr. Vijay Kelkar headed the task force that recommended GST. This is option (A).