History · Static GK

First in India

The ‘first’ facts asked most often, grouped by type.

Women firsts

• First woman Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi (1966)
• First woman PresidentPratibha Patil (2007)
• First woman GovernorSarojini Naidu (Uttar Pradesh, 1947)
• First woman Chief MinisterSucheta Kripalani (Uttar Pradesh, 1963)
• First woman Lok Sabha SpeakerMeira Kumar (2009)
• First woman Supreme Court judgeJustice M. Fathima Beevi (1989)
• First woman IAS officerAnna Rajam Malhotra (1951)
• First woman IPS officerKiran Bedi (1972)
• First woman President of INCAnnie Besant (1917)
• First Indian woman President of INCSarojini Naidu (1925)
• First woman to climb Mount Everest (India)Bachendri Pal (1984)
• First Indian woman Olympic medallistKarnam Malleswari (bronze, Sydney 2000)
• First woman to win Bharat RatnaIndira Gandhi (1971)
• First woman Jnanpith winnerAshapurna Devi (1976)
• First woman Chief Election CommissionerV. S. Ramadevi (1990)
• First full-time woman Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman (2019)
• First Indian woman Miss WorldReita Faria (1966)
• First Indian woman Booker Prize winnerArundhati Roy (1997)

Leaders & offices

• First PresidentDr Rajendra Prasad
• First Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru
• First Vice-PresidentDr S. Radhakrishnan
• First Chief Justice of IndiaH. J. Kania
• First Indian Governor-GeneralC. Rajagopalachari
• First Lok Sabha SpeakerG. V. Mavalankar
• First Chief Election CommissionerSukumar Sen
• First Muslim PresidentDr Zakir Husain
• First Sikh Prime MinisterDr Manmohan Singh
• First Indian Commander-in-Chief of the ArmyK. M. Cariappa
• First Field MarshalSam Manekshaw (1973)
• First Chief of Defence StaffGen Bipin Rawat (2020)

Awards & achievements

• First Indian Nobel laureateRabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913)
• First Bharat Ratna recipients (1954)C. Rajagopalachari, S. Radhakrishnan, C. V. Raman
• First Param Vir ChakraMajor Somnath Sharma (1947)
• First Jnanpith AwardG. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam, 1965)
• First Dadasaheb Phalke AwardDevika Rani (1969)
• First Indian Oscar winnerBhanu Athaiya (costume design, Gandhi, 1983)
• First individual Olympic goldAbhinav Bindra (shooting, Beijing 2008)
• First Olympic gold in athleticsNeeraj Chopra (javelin, Tokyo 2020)

Science & space

• First Indian in spaceRakesh Sharma (Soyuz T-11, 1984)
• First Indian to visit the ISSShubhanshu Shukla (Axiom-4, 2025)
• First Indian satelliteAryabhata (1975)
• First Indian Moon missionChandrayaan-1 (2008)
• First country to land near the Moon's south poleIndia, Chandrayaan-3 (23 August 2023)
• First nuclear testPokhran, 18 May 1974 (Smiling Buddha)
• First nuclear power plantTarapur, Maharashtra (1969)