Persons who accomplish any achievement for the first time set a benchmark for others to follow and as such make the whole nation to feel proud on them. Since these individuals achieve what had not been previously achieved by anyone before them, it becomes indispensable to be aware of them. And as such ‘First Indians’ have been a prominent category in the Static GK section of various competitive examinations like IIFT, Bank-PO, SSC etc. Besides being important for these competitive examinations, it is must to know the names of these personalities for acing various interviews including that of prestigious IIMs. So here is a list of ‘First in India’, segregated into males and females for easy recalling;
| 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 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 |
