This is a static General Knowledge topic. The reason behind calling it static is, the information given in the below article is never going to change. The names and their achievements will forever be etched in the history of India. The below article covers information on the list of achievements in the fields of science & technology, governance, defense, sports, and architecture.
Aspirants would find this topic very helpful in the government exams.Â
List of First in India:-Download PDF Here
Science & Technology
The below-mentioned table gives the list of important achievements in the field of Science & Technology (India):
| First in India – Science | |
| 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 |
Governance
The table mentioned-below gives the list of Important People in the field of Legislature and Judiciary Arm of Governance
| First in India – Governance | |
| First President of India | Dr. Rajendra Prasad |
| First Vice-President of India | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
| First President of Indian National Congress | Womesh Chandra Bannerjee |
| First Prime Minister of India | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| First Chief Election Commissioner of India | Sukumar Sen |
| First Viceroy of India | Lord Canning |
| First Governor-General of India | Lord William Bentinck |
| First Chief Justice of India | H.J Kania |
| First Speaker of Lok Sabha | G. V. Mavlankar |
| First Home Minister of India | Sardar Vallabhai Patel |
| First Chairperson of Lokpal of India | Pinaki Chandra Ghose |
Defence
The below-mentioned table gives the list of people who held important positions in the Indian Defense Sector:
| First in India – Defence | |
| First Defence Minister of India | Baldev Singh Chokkar |
| First Commander-in-Chief of Free India | Kodandera Madappa Cariappa |
| First Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force | Subroto Mukherjee |
| First Field Marshal | Sam Manekshaw |
| First Param Vir Chakra Winner | Major Somnath Sharma |
| First female Jawan in the Army | Shanti Tigga |
| First Indian woman to fly fighter aircraft without co-pilot | IAF Officer Avani Chaturvedi |
| First cosmonaut | Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma |
| First woman in the Indian Army awarded the coveted ‘Sword of Honour’ prize | Divya Ajith Kumar |
Sports
The Below Table gives the list of important achievements in the field of sports, predominantly at the Olympics
| First in India – Sports | |
| First Olympics Team Medal | Gold in Field Hockey (1928, Summer Olympics) |
| First Indian woman wrestler to win an Asian gold medal | Navjot Kaur |
| First Indian woman badminton player to win an Asian Games medal | Saina Nehwal |
| First Indian woman to win a medal at Asian Games | Santhi Soundarajan |
| First person to win the international bronze medal in skiing | Aanchal Thakur |
| First Woman to Win an Olympic Silver Medal | P. V. Sindhu in Badminton |
| First female to represent India at the Summer Olympics | Nora Polley, 1924 Summer Olympics |
| First Individual Gold Medal won by | Abhinav Bindra, 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing |
| First Woman to Win a Medal in Wrestling | Sakshi Malik won Bronze in the 2016 Summer Olympics |
Architecture
The below table gives information on Indian Architecture
| 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 |
List of First in India – Frequently Asked
| First British to Visit India | Thomas Roe |
| First Chinese pilgrim to Visit India | Fa-Hien/Faxian |
| First Indian to reach Antarctica | Lt. Ram Charan |
| First Judge in International Court of Justice | Dr. Nagender Singh |
| First Muslim President of the Indian National Congress | Badruddin Tayyabji |
| First Post Office Opened in India | Kolkata(1727) |
| First Wax statue of a Living Indian | Mahatma Gandhi at Madame Tussaud’s in 1939 |
| India’s First Lok Sabha Member to be elected with a record maximum number of votes | P.V.Narasimha Rao |
| India’s First Open University | Dr B.R Ambedkar Open University |
| India’s First University | Nalanda University |
| India’s first man in Space | Rakesh Sharma |
| The first Speaker of the Lok Sabha | Ganesh Vasudeva Mavalankar |
| The first and last Muslim woman ruler of India | Razia Sultan |
| The first and the last Indian to be Governor-General of free India | C. Rajgopalachari |
| The first British Governor-General of Bengal | Lord Warren Hastings(1774-1885) |
| The first British Governor-General of India | Lord William Bentinck(1833-1835) |
| The first British Viceroy of India | Lord Canning |
| The first Chief Election Commissioner | Sukumar Sen |
| The first Chief Justice of Supreme Court | Justice Hirala J. Kania |
| The first Chief of Army Staff | Gen. Maharaj Rajendra Singhji |
| The first Education Minister | Abdul Kalam Azad |
| The first Field Marshal of India | S.H.F. Manekshaw |
| The first Governor-General of free India | Lord Mountbatten |
| The first Home Minister of India | Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel |
| The first Indian Air Chief Marshal | S. Mukherjee |
| The first Indian Commander-in-Chief of India | General Cariappa |
| The first Indian Member of the Viceroy’s executive council | S.P.Sinha |
| The first Indian Naval Chief | Vice-Admiral R.D. Katari |
| The first Indian Pilot | J.R.D. Tata (1929) |
| The first Indian to cross English Channel | Mihir Sen |
| The first Indian to get Nobel Prize in Physics | C.V.Raman |
| The first Indian to join the Indian Civil Services | Satyendra Nath Tagore |
| The first Indian to receive Bharat Ratna award | Dr. Radhakrishnan |
| The first Indian to win Nobel Prize | Rabindranath Tagore |
| The first Judge of International Court of Justice | Dr. Nagendra Singh |
| The first lady to become Miss World | Rita Faria |
| The first man who introduced printing press in India | James Hicky |
| The first Muslim President of India | Dr. Zakir Hussain |
| The first Muslim President of Indian National Congress | Badruddin Tayyabji |
| The first Muslim President of Indian Republic | Dr. Zakhir Hussain |
| The first person of Indian origin to receive Nobel Prize in Medicine | Hargovind Khurana |
| The first person to get Param Vir Chakra | Major Somnath Sharma |
| The first person to reach Mt. Everest without oxygen | Sherpa Anga Dorjee |
| The first Person to receive Jnanpith award | Sri Shankar Kurup |
| The first person to receive Magsaysay Award | Acharya Vinoba Bhave |
| The first person to receive Nobel Prize in Economics | Amartya Sen |
| The first person to receive Stalin Prize | Saifuddin Kitchlu |
| The first person to resign from the Central Cabinet | Shyama Prasad Mukherjee |
| The first President of India who died while in office | Dr. Zakhir Hussain |
| The first President of Indian National Congress | W.C. Banerjee |
| The first President of Indian Republic | Dr. Rajendra Prasad |
| The first Prime Minister of free India | Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru |
| The first Prime Minister of India who did not face the Parliament | Charan Singh |
| The first Prime Minister of India who resigned without completing the full term | Morarji Desai |
| The first Vice-President of India | Dr. Radhakrishnan |
| The first woman Air Vice Marshal | P. Bandopadhyaya |
| The first woman Airline Pilot | Durba Banerjee |
| The first woman Ambassador | Miss C.B. Muthamma |
| The first woman Asian Games Gold Medal Winner | Kamlijit Sandhu |
| The first woman Chairman of Union Public Service Commission | Roze Millian Bethew |
| The first woman chairperson of Indian Airlines | Sushma Chawla |
| The first woman Cheif Justice of High Court | Mrs Leela Seth (Himachal Pradesh High Court) |
| The first woman Chief Minister of an Indian State | Mrs Sucheta Kripalani |
| The first woman Director General of Police | Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya |
| The first woman Governor of a state in free India | Mrs Sarojini Naidu |
| The first woman Graduates | Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu, 1883 |
| The first woman Honours Graduate | Kamini Roy, 1886 |
| The first woman IPS officer | Mrs. Kiran Bedi |
| The first woman Judge | Anna Chandy (She became judge in a district court in 1937) |
| The first woman judge in Supreme Court | Mrs. Meera Sahib Fatima Bibi |
| The first woman Judge in Supreme Court of India | Kumari Justice M. Fathima Beevi |
| The first woman Lawyer | Cornelia Sorabjee |
| The first woman Lieutenant General | Puneeta Arora |
| The first woman Minister in a Government | Rajkumari Amrit Kaur |
| The first woman Olympic medal Winner | Karnam Malleswari, 2000 |
| The first woman pilot in Indian Air Force | Harita Kaur Dayal |
| The first woman President of Indian National Congress | Mrs Annie Besant |
| The first woman President of United Nations General Assembly | Mrs Vijaya Laxmi Pandit |
| The first woman Prime Minister | Mrs Indira Gandhi |
| The first woman Speaker of a State Assembly | Shanno Devi |
| The first woman to climb Mount Everest | Bachhendri Pal |
| The first woman to climb Mount Everest twice | Santosh Yadav |
| The first woman to cross English Channel | Aarti Saha |
| The first woman to receive Ashoka Chakra | Nirja Bhanot |
| The first woman to receive Bharat Ratna | Mrs. Indira Gandhi |
| The first woman to receive Jnanpith Award | Ashapurna Devi |
| The first woman to receive Jnanpith Award | Ashpurna Devi |
| The first woman to receive the Nobel Prize | Mother Teresa |
List of First in India:-Download PDF Here
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