General Knowledge (GK) is very important in many competitive exams. It helps test what you know about facts that do not change over time. One important topic in GK is the “firsts in India.” This means the first time something special happened in our country, like in science, politics, sports, and other fields. These facts are often asked in exams because they are important milestones. Learning about these “firsts” can help you do well in exams and understand India’s progress better. This blog lists the most important “firsts in India” to help you prepare for your exams.
Listed below are 100 crucial Firsts in India for General Knowledge.
General & Government
- First President of India – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
- First Vice President of India – Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
- First Prime Minister of India – Jawaharlal Nehru
- First Deputy Prime Minister of India – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
- First Indian Governor-General of Independent India – C. Rajagopalachari
- First Chief Justice of India – Justice Harilal J. Kania
- First Indian to become the President of the UN General Assembly – Vijayalakshmi Pandit
- First Chief Election Commissioner of India – Sukumar Sen
- First Lok Sabha Speaker – Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar
- First Woman Governor of India – Sarojini Naidu (Uttar Pradesh)
- First Woman Chief Minister in India – Sucheta Kriplani (Uttar Pradesh)
- First Woman Speaker of Lok Sabha – Meira Kumar
- First President of Indian National Congress – W.C. Bonnerjee
- First Woman Foreign Minister of India – Sushma Swaraj
- First Indian Woman to become Minister – Vijayalakshmi Pandit
- First Chief Minister of an Indian State – Gopinath Bordoloi (Assam)
- First President of India to Die in Office – Zakir Husain
- First Non-Congress Prime Minister of India – Morarji Desai
- First Woman President of India – Pratibha Patil
- First Female Lok Sabha Member – Radhabai Subbarayan
Science & Technology
- First Indian in Space – Rakesh Sharma
- First Satellite Launched by India – Aryabhata
- First Indian to receive Nobel Prize – Rabindranath Tagore
- First Test Tube Baby in India – Durga (Kanupriya Agarwal)
- First Nuclear Reactor in India – Apsara
- First Indian Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) – SLV-3
- First Successful Indigenous Dhanush Missile Test – 2004
- First Mission to Mars (Mangalyaan) – Launched by ISRO
- First Atomic Energy Establishment in India – Trombay, Mumbai
- First Weather Satellite by India – INSAT-1B
- First Mobile Telephone Service – Delhi (1995)
- First 3D Printing Rocket – Agnibaan (2022)
- First Solar Mission of India – Aditya-L1
- First Supercomputer in India – PARAM 8000
- First Digital Village in India – Akodara, Gujarat
- First Large-Scale Digital Census – 2021 (Ongoing)
- First Biometric Identification System – Aadhaar
- First COVID-19 Vaccine Developed in India – Covaxin
- First Private Space Launch Facility – Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
- First Indian to Win a Nobel Prize in Physics – C.V. Raman
Politics & Law
- First Law Minister of India – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
- First Chief Justice of India from Scheduled Caste – K.G. Balakrishnan
- First Woman Judge of the Supreme Court of India – Justice M. Fathima Beevi
- First Woman IPS Officer in India – Kiran Bedi
- First Scheduled Tribe Chief Minister – Mohan Kumaramangalam
- First Woman High Court Judge – Anna Chandy
- First State in India to Implement Panchayati Raj – Rajasthan
- First Woman Defence Minister – Indira Gandhi
- First Anti-Corruption Law in India – 1947
- First Female Attorney General – None (No woman appointed till date)
- First Woman Chief Justice of High Court – Leila Seth (Himachal Pradesh)
- First Woman Advocate in India – Cornelia Sorabji
- First Indian Penal Code Passed – 1860
- First Woman Speaker of State Assembly – Shano Devi (Punjab)
- First Lokayukta Act Enacted in State – Maharashtra
- First Chief Justice of Supreme Court to be Impeached – None (No impeachment till date)
- First Woman to Become District Magistrate – Anna George Malhotra
- First Woman Foreign Secretary of India – Chokila Iyer
- First State to Use EVMs in Elections – Kerala
- First Woman Cabinet Minister of Independent India – Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Education & Literature
- First University in India – University of Calcutta
- First Medical College in India – Calcutta Medical College
- First Indian Nobel Laureate in Literature – Rabindranath Tagore
- First Woman President of the Indian National Congress – Annie Besant
- First Woman to Win the Man Booker Prize – Arundhati Roy
- First Indian Author to Win Jnanpith Award – G. Sankara Kurup
- First Woman to Get Bharat Ratna – Indira Gandhi
- First Woman Author to Publish a Book in India – Toru Dutt
- First Woman to Win Sahitya Akademi Award – Amrita Pritam
- First Woman Editor of a Magazine – Pandita Ramabai (Stree Dhan)
- First Female to Translate the Bhagavad Gita in English – Swami Swarupananda
- First Book Published in India – Biblia Sacra
- First University to be Established as Residential University – Banaras Hindu University
- First Indian Woman Author of a Novel in English – Kamala Das
- First Indian Author to Win Sahitya Akademi Award – R.K. Narayan
- First Hindi Author to Receive Jnanpith Award – Sumitranandan Pant
- First Woman Sanskrit Scholar – Bhagini Nivedita
- First Woman Science Writer – Janaki Ammal
- First Female University in India – SNDT Women’s University
- First Female Editor of a Newspaper – Swarnakumari Devi
Sports
- First Indian to Win an Olympic Medal – Norman Pritchard (1900)
- First Woman to Climb Mount Everest – Bachendri Pal
- First Indian to Win All England Badminton Championship – Prakash Padukone
- First Indian Woman to Win Asian Games Gold – Kamaljeet Sandhu
- First Indian to Play Davis Cup Tennis – Leander Paes
- First Indian to Score a Double Century in Test Cricket – Polly Umrigar
- First Woman to Win a Medal in Wrestling at Olympics – Sakshi Malik
- First Woman to Reach Wimbledon Singles Finals – Sania Mirza
- First Indian Woman to Win Commonwealth Gold – Kunjarani Devi
- First Indian to Climb Mount Everest – Tenzing Norgay
- First Indian Cricketer to Hit Six Sixes in an Over – Yuvraj Singh
- First Indian Paralympian Gold Medalist – Murlikant Petkar
- First Indian to Reach World Chess Championship Finals – Viswanathan Anand
- First Woman Weightlifter to Win Olympic Medal – Karnam Malleswari
- First Indian Woman Grandmaster in Chess – Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi
- First Indian Female Archer to Win Asian Games Medal – Deepika Kumari
- First Indian Woman Boxer to Win Olympic Medal – Mary Kom
- First Indian to Become World No. 1 in Badminton – Saina Nehwal
- First Indian Athlete to Win a Gold Medal at IAAF – Hima Das
- First Indian F1 Driver – Narain Karthikeyan