For how many years Lal Bahadur Shastri remained cabinet minister prior to becoming the Prime Minister?

11 years

The correct answer is option (4) - 11 years

Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904-1966): Prime Minister of India; participated in the freedom movement since 1930; minister in UP cabinet; General Secretary of Congress; Minister in Union Cabinet from 1951 to 1956 (5 years) when he resigned taking responsibility for the railway accident and later from 1957 to 1964 (7 years); coined the famous slogan ‘Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan’.

Note: The given answer is as per NTA. However, the correct answer should be 12 years as per the data given in NCERT which is not given as an option in the question.