Here’s a comprehensive list of “First in India” (all facts, one-liner style) – very useful for competitive exams

First in Men

• 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 – C. Rajagopalachari
• First Indian Chief of Army Staff – General K. M. Cariappa
• First Indian Commander-in-Chief – General K. M. Cariappa (1949)
• First Indian Chief of Air Staff – Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee
• First Indian Chief of Naval Staff – Vice Admiral R. D. Katari
• First Indian Nobel Laureate – Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913)
• First Indian to get Bharat Ratna – Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1954)
• First Indian astronaut – Rakesh Sharma (1984)
• First Indian to travel to space – Rakesh Sharma (Soyuz T-11, 1984)
• First Indian to win an Olympic medal – K. D. Jadhav (Bronze, Wrestling, 1952)
• First Indian to win an Olympic Gold – Abhinav Bindra (Shooting, 2008)
• First Indian to win Booker Prize – Arundhati Roy (1997, The God of Small Things)
• First Indian to climb Mount Everest – Tenzing Norgay (with Edmund Hillary, 1953)
• First Indian to climb Mount Everest without oxygen – Phu Dorjee (1984)
• First Indian to swim across English Channel – Mihir Sen (1958)
• First Indian test-tube baby – Harsha (1986)

First in Women

• First Woman President of India – Pratibha Patil
• First Woman Prime Minister of India – Indira Gandhi
• First Woman Chief Minister of a State – Sucheta Kriplani (UP, 1963)
• First Woman Governor of a State – Sarojini Naidu (UP, 1947)
• First Woman Speaker of Lok Sabha – Meira Kumar
• First Woman Judge of Supreme Court – Justice M. Fathima Beevi
• First Woman Chief Justice of a High Court – Leila Seth
• First Woman Chief Minister of Delhi – Sushma Swaraj
• First Woman President of INC – Annie Besant (1917)
• First Woman Bharat Ratna awardee – Indira Gandhi (1971)
• First Woman Nobel Laureate – Mother Teresa (Peace, 1979)
• First Indian woman to win Miss World – Reita Faria (1966)
• First Indian woman to win Miss Universe – Sushmita Sen (1994)
• First Indian woman astronaut – Kalpana Chawla
• First Indian woman to go into space – Kalpana Chawla (1997, Columbia STS-87)
• First Indian woman to climb Mount Everest – Bachendri Pal (1984)
• First Indian woman to win Olympic medal – Karnam Malleswari (Weightlifting, 2000)
• First Indian woman to win Olympic Silver – P. V. Sindhu (Badminton, 2016)
• First Indian woman to win Booker Prize – Arundhati Roy (1997)

First in Politics & Governance

• First General Elections – 1951-52
• First Election Commissioner of India – Sukumar Sen
• First Lok Sabha Speaker – G. V. Mavalankar
• First Rajya Sabha Chairman – Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
• First Municipal Corporation in India – Madras (1688)
• First Indian to resign from ICS – Subhas Chandra Bose
• First State formed on linguistic basis – Andhra Pradesh (1953)
• First Indian President to die in office – Dr. Zakir Husain
• First Chief Election Commissioner – Sukumar Sen
• First Finance Minister of India – R. K. Shanmukham Chetty

First in Defence

• First Param Vir Chakra winner – Major Somnath Sharma (1947)
• First Victoria Cross winner (Indian) – Khudadad Khan (1914)
• First Field Marshal of India – Sam Manekshaw
• First Nuclear Test – Pokhran-I (Smiling Buddha, 1974)
• First Missile Tested – Prithvi (1988)
• First Satellite Launched – Aryabhata (1975)
• First Satellite Launch Vehicle – SLV-3 (1980)
• First Aircraft Carrier of India – INS Vikrant
• First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier – INS Vikrant (2022)
• First Nuclear Submarine – INS Arihant

First in Education, Literature & Media

• First University in India – Nalanda (ancient) / Calcutta University (modern, 1857)
• First IIT – IIT Kharagpur (1951)
• First IIM – IIM Calcutta (1961)
• First Newspaper in India – Hicky’s Bengal Gazette (1780)
• First Indian to write in English – Raja Ram Mohan Roy
• First Indian English novel – Rajmohan’s Wife by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1864)
• First Indian to win Jnanpith Award – G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam, 1965)
• First Indian movie – Raja Harishchandra (1913, Dadasaheb Phalke)
• First Indian talkie film – Alam Ara (1931)
• First Indian film to win Oscar (Best Documentary) – Smile Pinki (2008)
• First Indian film submitted to Oscars – Mother India (1957)
• First Indian sound recording – Gauhar Jaan (1902)
• First Indian feature film in color – Kisan Kanya (1937)

First in Geography & Environment

• First National Park – Jim Corbett National Park (1936)
• First Tiger Reserve – Jim Corbett (1973, under Project Tiger)
• First Biosphere Reserve – Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (1986)
• First State to be formed – Andhra Pradesh (1953)
• First State to be bifurcated – Punjab & Haryana (1966)
• First State to be created after independence – Andhra Pradesh (1953)
• First State to implement Panchayati Raj – Rajasthan (1959)
• First Greenfield Airport – Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru
• First Indian city on UNESCO World Heritage list – Ahmedabad (2017)
• First Indian city with metro rail – Kolkata (1984)
• First Indian state to achieve 100% literacy – Kerala (1991)
• First Indian state to ban plastic – Sikkim (1998)

First in Sports

• First Indian Test Cricket Captain – C. K. Nayudu
• First Indian Cricket World Cup win – 1983 (Kapil Dev – captain)
• First Indian woman to captain Cricket team – Shanta Rangaswamy
• First Indian to win Wimbledon – Leander Paes (Junior, 1990)
• First Indian to win Grand Slam (Senior) – Mahesh Bhupathi (French Open, 1997)
• First Indian to win Chess World Championship – Viswanathan Anand
• First Indian Formula One driver – Narain Karthikeyan
• First Indian woman boxer to win Olympic medal – Mary Kom
• First Indian to win Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award – Viswanathan Anand (1991–92)
• First Indian to win World Billiards Championship – Wilson Jones

First in Indian States

• First state formed on linguistic basis – Andhra Pradesh (1953)
• First state to be bifurcated – Punjab (1966)
• First state to introduce Panchayati Raj – Rajasthan (1959)
• First state to establish High Court – Calcutta (1862, Bengal Presidency)
• First state to implement GST – Assam
• First state with 100% literacy – Kerala
• First state to ban plastic – Sikkim
• First state to launch women’s police battalion – Jharkhand
• First state to become fully organic – Sikkim
• First state to set up a Human Rights Commission – Rajasthan
• First state to implement mid-day meal scheme – Tamil Nadu
• First state to achieve total electrification – Kerala
• First state to achieve 100% rail electrification – Haryana (2024)

First in Awards / Science / Technology

• First Indian Nobel Prize winner – Rabindranath Tagore (1913, Literature)
• First Indian to win Bharat Ratna – Dr. Radhakrishnan, C. Rajagopalachari, C. V. Raman (1954)
• First woman Bharat Ratna – Indira Gandhi (1971)
• First Jnanpith Award winner – G. Sankara Kurup (1965, Malayalam)
• First Booker Prize winner – Arundhati Roy (1997)
• First Oscar winner (India) – Bhanu Athaiya (1983, Costume Design)
• First Indian scientist Nobel – C. V. Raman (1930, Physics)
• First test-tube baby in India – Harsha (1986)
• First nuclear test in India – Pokhran-I (Smiling Buddha, 1974)
• First Indian communication satellite – APPLE (1981)
• First Indian satellite – Aryabhata (1975)
• First indigenous supercomputer – PARAM 8000 (1991)
• First indigenous aircraft carrier – INS Vikrant (2022)
• First AI supercomputer in India – AIRAWAT (2023)

First in International Achievements

• First Indian to win Nobel Prize – Rabindranath Tagore (1913)
• First Indian woman to win Nobel Prize – Mother Teresa (1979)
• First Indian to become President of UNGA – Vijayalakshmi Pandit (1953)
• First Indian judge at International Court of Justice – Dr. Nagendra Singh
• First Indian to win Oscar – Bhanu Athaiya (1983)
• First Indian film nominated for Oscar – Mother India (1957)
• First Indian to climb Mt. Everest – Tenzing Norgay (1953, with Edmund Hillary)
• First Indian woman to climb Everest – Bachendri Pal (1984)
• First Indian astronaut in space – Rakesh Sharma (1984)
• First Indian to win Miss World – Reita Faria (1966)
• First Indian to win Miss Universe – Sushmita Sen (1994)
• First Indian Grandmaster in Chess – Viswanathan Anand (1988)
• First Indian to win Olympic medal (individual) – K. D. Jadhav (1952, Wrestling)
• First Indian woman Olympic medalist – Karnam Malleswari (2000)
• First Indian to win Olympic gold (individual) – Abhinav Bindra (2008, Shooting)
• First Indian in Formula 1 – Narain Karthikeyan (2005)