India is a developing nation and the rate of development is a measure of different factors altogether. Indian society is progressing at a better pace due to the upliftment of different domains related to arts, science, architecture, sports, etc. There are many fields where India has marked the numero uno position. So here is a list of ‘First in India’, divided into males and females in sports, defense, Politics and more:
First in India (Male)
| First Prime Minister of free India | Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru |
| First batsman to score double century in One Day International cricket match | Sachin Tendulkar |
| First man to have climbed Mount Everest twice | Nawang Gombu |
| First President of Indian Republic | Dr. Rajendra Prasad |
| First Indian Pilot | J.R.D. Tata |
| First Indian to win Nobel Prize | Rabindranath Tagore |
| First president of Indian National Congress | W.C. Banerjee |
| First Muslim President of Indian National Congress | Badruddin Tayyabji |
| First Muslim President of India | Dr. Zakir Hussain |
| First British Governor General of India | Lord William Bentinck |
| First British Viceroy of India | Lord Canning |
| First Governor General of free India | Lord Mountbatten |
| First and the last Indian Governer General of free India | C. Rajgopalachari |
| First man who introduce printing press in India | James Hicky |
| First Indian to join the I.C.S. | Satendranath Tagore |
| First Indian man in space | Rakesh Sharma |
| First Prime Minister of India who resigned without completing Full term | Morarji Desai |
| First Indian Commander-in-Chief of India | General Cariappa |
| First Cheif of Army Staff | Gen. Maharaj Rajendra Singhji |
| First Indian member of the Viceroy’s executive council | S.P. Sinha |
| First President of India who died while in office | Dr. Zakir Hussain |
| First Prime Minister of India who did not face the Parliament | Charan Singh |
| First Field Marshal of India | S.H.F. Manekshaw |
| First Indian to get Nobel Prize in Physics | C.V. Raman |
| First Indian to receive Bharat Ratna award | Dr. Radhakrishnan |
| First Indian to cross English Channel | Mihir Sen |
| First person to receive Gyanpith award | Sri Shankar Kurup |
| First Speaker of the Lok Sabha | Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar |
| First Vice-President of India | Dr. Radhakrishnan |
| First Education Minister | Abul Kalam Azad |
| First Home Minister of India | Sardar Vallabha Bhai Patel |
| First Indian Air Chief Marshal | S. Mukharji |
| First Indian Naval Chief | Vice Admiral R.D. Katari |
| First judge of International Court of Justice | Dr. Nagendra Singh |
| First person to receive Paramveer Chakra | Major Somnath Sharma |
| First person to reach Mt. Everest without oxygen | Sherpa Anga Dorjee |
| First Chief Election Commissioner | Sukumar Sen |
| First person to receive Magsaysay Award | Achrya Vinoba Bhave |
| First person of Indian origin to receive Nobel Prize in Medicine | Hargovind Khurana |
| First Chinese traveller to visit India | Fahein |
| First person to receive Stalin Prize | Saifuddin Kitchlu |
| First person to resign from the central cabinate | Shyama Prasad Mukharji |
| First foreigner to receive Bharat Ratna | Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan |
| First person to receive Nobel Prize in Economics | Amartya Sen |
| First Chief Justice of Supreme Court | Justice Hiralal J. Kania |
| First President of Indian National Congress | W.C. Banerjee |
| First batsman to score three test century in three successive tests on debut | Mohd. Azharuddin |
First in India (Female)
| First Woman Speaker of Lok Sabha | Meira Kumar (2009) |
| India’s First Woman President | Pratiba Patil |
| India’s First Woman Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi |
| India’s First Woman Governor | Sarojini Naidu |
| India’s First Woman IPS Officer | Kiran Bedi |
| First Woman Chief Minister of State | Sucheta Kripalani |
| First Woman Union Minister | Rajkumari Amrita Kaur |
| First Woman President of INC | Annie Besant |
| First Woman Judge of Supreme Court | Meera Sahib Fatima Bibi |
| First Woman to get Ashok Chakra | Nirja Bhanot |
| First Indian Woman Ambassador at UN | Vijalakshmi Pandit |
| First Indian woman who reached Antarctica | Mahel Musa |
| First Indian Woman to get Nobel Prize | Mother Teresa |
| First Indian Woman to swim across English Channel | Arati Saha |
| First Indian Woman to climb Mt Everest | Bachendri Pal |
| First Indian Woman to become Miss World | Miss Reita Faria |
| First Indian Woman to climb Mt Everest twice | Santhosh Yadhav |
| First Indian Woman to become Miss Universe | Susmita Sen |
| First Indian Woman to get Bharat Ratna | Indira Gandhi |
| First Indian Woman to get Jnanpith Award | Ashapurna Devi |
| First Indian Woman to win WTA Title | Sania Mirza |
| First Indian Woman Airline Pilot | Durga Banerjee |
| First Indian Woman to win Gold in Asian Games | Kamaljeet Sandhu |
| First Indian Woman President of INC | Sarojini Naidu |
| First Indian Woman to Booker Prize | Arundhati Roy |
| First Woman Musician to get Bharat Ratna | MS Subbalakshmi |
| First Indian Woman to go to space | Kalpana Chawla |
First in India – Science & Technology
| First hydroelectric plant | Sidrapong (Darjeeling) |
| First Man in Space | Rakesh Sharma |
| First Nuclear Reactor | Apsara (Maharashtra) |
| First satellite | Aryabhatta |
| First successfully indigenous launch vehicle | SLV-3 |
| First genetically modified food product in India | Bt. Eggplant Hybrid [Banned] |
| First to pass the examination of the Indian Medical Service (IMS) | Surjo Kumar Chakroborty |
| First Indian to be appointed as the deputy director-general of programmes (DDP) of the World Health Organization (WHO) | Dr. Soumya Swaminathan |
| First satellite earth station for domestic communications | Secunderabad |
| First Indian to get Nobel Prize in Physics | C.V Raman |
First in India – Political and Governance
| First Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India | A.P.J Abdul Kalam (1999-2001) |
| First Minister of Law and Justice | B.R. Ambedkar |
| First Muslim President of Indian National Congress | Badruddin Tayab |
| First Minister of Defence | Baldev Singh Chokkar (1947-1952) |
| First National security Advisor | Brajesh Mishra |
| First Solicitor General of India | C K Daphtary |
| First Indian Governor General of Independent India | C. Rajgopalachari |
| First Indian Judge of International Court of Justice | Dr. Nagendra Singh |
| The President of Constituent Assembly | Dr. Rajendra Prasad |
| First Minister of Agriculture | Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1946-1948) |
| First President of India | Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1950-1962) |
| First Speaker of Lok Sabha | Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar (1952-1956) |
| First Prime Minister of India | Jawaharlal Nehru (1947-1964) |
| First Chief Economic Advisor of India | JJ Anjaria |
| First Minister of Railways | John Mathai (1947-1948) |
| First Chief Justice of India | Justice Hiralal J. Kania |
| First Foreign Secretary of India | K.P.S Menon |
| Last Governor General of India | Lord Canning |
| First Governor of Bengal | Lord Clive |
| First Governor General of Independent India (after independence) | Lord Louis Mountbatten |
| First Governor General of India | Lord William Bentinck |
| First Education Minister of Independent India | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad |
| First Minister of Human Resources Development | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad |
| First Attorney General for India | Motilal C. Setalvad (1950-1963) |
| First Cabinet Secretary of India | N.R.Pillai (1950-1953) |
| First Minister of Finance | R.K. Shanmukham Chetty |
| First National Human Rights Commissioner of India | Ranganath Misra |
| First Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha | S.V. Krishnamoorthy Rao (1952-1962) |
| First Minister of Home Affairs | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel |
| First Minister of Information and Broadcasting | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel |
| First Vice President of Independent India | Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan (1952- 1962) |
| First Indian ICS officer | Satyendra Nath Tagore |
| First Chairman of Union Public Service Commission | Sir Ross Barker |
| First Chief Election Commissioner of India | Sukumar Sen (1950-1958) |
| First Indian to pass ICS | Surendra Nath Banerjee |
| First Women Minister of External Affairs | Sushma Swaraj |
| First Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India | V. Narahari Rao (1948-1954) |
| First President of Indian National Congress | W.C Banerjee |
| First Governor General of Bengal | Warren Hastings |
First in India – Defence
| First National Security Advisor (India) | Brajesh Mishra, IFS |
| First Medium-Range Missile | Agni |
| First Chief of Air Staff | Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst |
| First Indian Air Chief of India | Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee |
| First large scale Atomic Reactor of India | Apsara |
| First Chief Army Staff | General Maharaja Sri Rajendra Singh Ji Jadeja |
| First Field Marshal of India | General S.F.J Manekshaw |
| First Nuclear Submarine of India | I.N.S. Chakra |
| First Indian Submarine | I.N.S. Kalvari |
| First Aircraft Carrier Indian Ship | I.N.S. Vikrant |
| First Army Chief of India | Kodandera Madappa Cariappa |
| First Nuclear Centre | Tarapur |
| First Chief of Naval Staff of India | Vice-Admiral R.D Katari |
First in India – Architecture
| First temple constructed from a single rock | Kailasa temple at Ellora |
| First church in India | St. Thomas Church, Palayoor |
| First mosque in India | Cheraman Juma Mosque in Methala |
| First dam in India | Kallanai Dam |
| First Indian temple with many interconnected structures | Brihadeeswarar Temple, Tamil Nadu |
First in India – Sports
| First Table Tennis player of India | Achanta Sharath Kamal |
| First Female Swimmer of India | Arati Saha |
| First Indian to Win Palk-Strait Ocean Swimming Contest | Baidyanath Nath |
| First Female wrestling player of India | Geeta Phogat |
| First Golf player of India | Jeev Milkha Singh |
| First Female Weightlifter player of India | Karnam Malleswari |
| First Indian Athlete | Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav |
| First Car Racer of India | Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan |
| First Batsman of India | Lala Amarnath Bhardwaj |
| First Hockey player of India | Major Dhyan Chand |
| First Female boxer to win 6 gold medals at World Championships | Mary Kom |
| First Indian Swimmer to cross English Channel | Mihir Sen |
| First Asian Games Organised | New Delhi |
| First Billiards and Snooker player of India | Pankaj Arjan Advani |
| First Badminton player of India | Prakash Padukone |
| First Squash player of India | Ritwik Bhattacharya |
| First Female player of Badminton | Saina Nehwal |
| First Lawn Tennis player of India | Sardar Nihal Singh |
| First Archery player of India | Satyadev Prasad |
| First Chess player of India | Viswanathan Anand |
| First Indian to win Billiard Trophy | Wilson Jones |
First in India – Awards and Prizes
| First Indian to win Magsaysay Award | Acharya Vinoba Bhava |
| First Scientist to get Nobal Prize | C.V. Raman |
| First Indian to get Bharat Ratana Award | Dr. S. Radhakrishnan |
| First Indian to get Jnanpith Award | G. Shankar Kurup |
| First Person to get Paramvir Chakra | Major Somnath Sharma |
| First Women to get Ashok chakra | Nirja Bhanot |
| First Indian Nobel Laureate | Rabindranath Tagore |
| First Indian author to get Anderson Award | Ruskin Bond |
| First Indian to get Stalin Award | Saifuddin Kitchlew |
First in India – FAQs
Who first came to India?
Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama was the first European to reach India in July 1497. He arrives at Calicut(Kozhikode) on the Malabar Coast (State of Kerala) via the Atlantic Ocean.
Who got first Nobel Prize from India?
Rabindranath Tagore famous Poet and writer was the first Indian to get a Nobel Prize in 1913 in the field of literature.
Who is the first male graduate in India?
Joddu Nath Bose and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee became the first graduates of the university.
Who was the first woman CM of Delhi?
Sushma Swaraj was the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi from 13 October 1998 to 3 December 1998.
Who is the first citizen of country (India)?
The President of India is termed the First Citizen of India.
Who is the first Indian woman to get Nobel Prize?
Mother Teresa was the first Indian woman to win Noble Peace Prize in 1979.
This article is about the list of the first achievements of India and Indians in various fields. This is an important topic for government exams.
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