The evidence points to option A, Sikandar Lodi. Sikandar Lodi founded Agra in 1504 and developed it as an administrative base that later became crucial under the Mughals. Administrative terms must be distinguished carefully because a department, an officer and a fiscal assignment performed different functions. The distractors need separate rejection: Ibrahim Lodi belongs to a different institution, context or chronology; Daulat Khan Lodi does not perform the function described in the stem; and Bahlul Lodi fails the required association. The wording of “Which ruler founded Agra as an important Lodi administrative centre in the early sixteenth century?” is deliberately specific, so the candidate should isolate its operative clue before recalling names. A useful method is to construct a two-step link from the tested term to its function and then from that function to the relevant ruler, text, monument or region. — Sikandar Lodi”, but also remember the factual reason stated above.