GK · Chapter 01

First in India

Top Officials · Firsts by Gender · Awards · Science, Sports & Infrastructure Firsts

First Top Officials of Independent India

Position	First Person	Tenure
President	Dr. Rajendra Prasad	1950–62
Vice-President	Dr. S. Radhakrishnan	1952–62
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru	1947–64
Deputy PM / Home Minister	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel	1947–50
Finance Minister	R.K. Shanmukham Chetty	1947–48
Chief Justice of India	Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania	1950–51
Chief Election Commissioner	Sukumar Sen	1950–58
Speaker of Lok Sabha	G.V. Mavalankar	1952–56
Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha	S.V. Krishnamoorthy Rao	1952–62
Chairman, Finance Commission	K.C. Neogy	First Finance Commission constituted in 1951
Lokpal (Ombudsman)	Pinaki Chandra Ghose	2019–22
President of the World Bank (Indian-origin)	Ajay Banga	Took office in 2023

⚡ QUICK RECALL President → PM → Deputy PM order asked frequently. Remember: Prasad (Pres) ≠ Radhakrishnan (VP), don't swap!

Exam Trap Zone — Officials

⚠ EXAM TRAP Ajay Banga is President of the World Bank (a global body), NOT an "Indian government official" — commonly confused in "first Indian to head an international body" questions.

⚠ EXAM TRAP Sukumar Sen was India's first Chief Election Commissioner (1950–58).

Governor-General & Viceroy of India

Position	Name	Period
Governor-General of Bengal	Warren Hastings	1773–85
Governor-General of India	Lord William Bentinck	1833–35
First Viceroy of India	Lord Canning	1858–62
Governor-General of Independent India	Lord Mountbatten	1947–48
Last Governor-General (Indian)	C. Rajagopalachari	1948–50

Lord Mountbatten was the last British Governor-General and Viceroy of India.
C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) was the first and last Indian Governor-General.

⚠ EXAM TRAP "Governor-General of India" (Bentinck, 1833) ≠ "Governor-General of Bengal" (Hastings, 1773) — different designations before/after Charter Act 1833. Frequently mixed up.

First Major Military Officials

Position	Name	Year
First Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Army	General K.M. Cariappa	1949
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)	General Bipin Rawat	2020
Field Marshal	S.H.F. Jamshedji Manekshaw	1973
First Indian Chief of the Naval Staff	Vice Admiral R.D. Katari	1958–62
First Indian Chief of the Air Staff	Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee	1954

1949First C-in-C

1973First Field Marshal

2020First CDS

First Indian Men — Miscellaneous

Achievement	Person	Year
President, International Court of Justice	Dr. Nagendra Singh	1985–88
Education Minister	Abul Kalam Azad	1947–58
To pass ICS Exam	Satyendranath Tagore	1863
Pilot	J.R.D. Tata	1929
CJI appointed as Governor	P. Sathasivam (Kerala)	—
Squadron Leader to go into space	Rakesh Sharma	1984
Chief Guest, Republic Day	Sukarno (President, Indonesia)	1950
Governor of RBI (Indian)	C.D. Deshmukh	1943–49
Sportsperson to receive Padma Shri	Balbir Singh Dosanjh	1957
To cross English Channel (swimming)	Mihir Sen	1958
To reach South Pole	Colonel J.K. Bajaj	1989
Medal in World Wrestling Championship	Udaychand	1961
Everest without oxygen	Sherpa Phu Dorji	1984
ODI double century	Sachin Tendulkar	2010
Test triple century	Virender Sehwag	—
Three ODI double centuries	Rohit Sharma	—
Olympic Gold — Track & Field	Neeraj Chopra	Tokyo 2021
Individual Olympic Gold (any event)	Abhinav Bindra	Beijing 2008

⚡ QUICK RECALL Bindra (2008) = first individual Olympic Gold. Chopra (2021) = first Track & Field Gold. Both distinct records — don't confuse "first individual gold" with "first athletics gold."

⚠ EXAM TRAP C.D. Deshmukh appears twice in GK — first Indian Governor of RBI AND first Indian to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award in Government Service (1959). Commonly split into two "different" people by mistake.

First Women (Officials)

Position	Name	Year/Period
President	Pratibha Devi Singh Patil	2007–12
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi	1966–77
Judge	Anna Chandy	1937
Judge, Supreme Court	Meera Sahib Fathima Beevi	1989–92
Chief Justice, High Court	Leela Seth (Himachal Pradesh)	1991
Governor	Sarojini Naidu (Uttar Pradesh)	1947–48
Chief Minister	Sucheta Kriplani (Uttar Pradesh)	1963–67

First Women in Legislature

Position	Name
State Assembly Speaker	Shanno Devi
Lok Sabha Speaker	Meira Kumar
Woman Council of States member (British India)	Radhabai Subbarayan
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman	Violet Alva
Union Minister	Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Rajya Sabha Secretary General	V.S. Ramadevi
Minister of State, External Affairs	Lakshmi N. Menon
Legislative Council member in British India	S. Muthulakshmi Reddy

First Women — Other Fields

Achievement	Name	Year
President, UN General Assembly	Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit	1953
IAS Officer	Anna Rajam Malhotra (1951 batch)	1951
First Lady of Indian Cinema	Devika Rani	1935
Graduate (Hons.)	Kamini Roy	1886
Miss World	Reita Faria	1966
Candidate for President	Manohara Holkar	1967
IPS Officer	Kiran Bedi	1972
Chairperson, National Women's Commission	Jayanti Patnaik	1992
Miss Universe	Sushmita Sen	1994
Indian-origin woman in Space	Kalpana Chawla	1997
Advocate to become SC Judge directly	Indu Malhotra	2018
Woman Combat Aviator, Indian Army	Abhilasha Barak	2022
Fighter Pilot to fly a Fighter Jet	Avani Chaturvedi	First solo MiG-21 Bison flight: 2018
Helicopter Pilot, Indian Navy	Anamika B. Rajeev	—
ADC to President	Yashasvi Solanki	—
SPG close-protection officer (2025 report)	Adaso Kapesa	Reported in the PM's close-protection team during the 2025 UK visit

⚠ EXAM TRAP Kalpana Chawla was the first Indian-origin woman in space (US citizen) — NOT the first Indian woman in space. Sunita Williams is also often wrongly cited here.

First Indian Women in Olympics & Sports

Achievement	Name	Year
Participate in Olympic Games	Nora Margaret Polley (Paris, Tennis)	1924
Gold Medal, Asian Games	Kamaljit Sandhu (Bangkok)	1970
100 wickets, Women's ODIs	Neetu David	First Indian woman to 100 Women's ODI wickets
Olympic Medal — Weightlifting	Karnam Malleswari (Sydney)	2000
World No.1 Badminton ranking	Saina Nehwal	April 2015
Gold in Wrestling, Commonwealth Games	Geeta Phogat (New Delhi)	2010
WTA Tennis Tournament win	Sania Mirza	2005
Woman Grandmaster (WGM)	Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi	2001
Olympic Medal — Wrestling	Sakshi Malik (Rio)	2016
Member, International Olympic Committee	Nita Ambani	2016
Two Olympic Medals — Badminton	P.V. Sindhu (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)	2016–2021
Two Olympic Medals, single edition	Manu Bhaker (Paris)	2024

Mountaineering & Swimming Firsts

Achievement	Name	Year
Swim across English Channel	Aarti Saha	1959
Reach Antarctica	Meher Moos	1976
Climb Mount Everest	Bachendri Pal	1984
Sail around the World	Ujjwala Patil	1987
International Swimming Marathon Winner	Archana Bharat Kumar Patel	1988
Climb Mt. Everest twice	Santosh Yadav	Second summit: 1993
Disabled Woman to climb Everest	Arunima Sinha	2013
Oldest (55) Woman to climb Everest	Jyoti Ratre	2024
Cross Strait of Gibraltar	Aarti Pradhan	First Indian woman

⚡ QUICK RECALL Bachendri Pal (1984) = Everest. Santosh Yadav (second summit: 1993) = Everest TWICE. Arunima Sinha (2013) = disabled climber. Keep chronology straight — a common sequencing question.

Nobel Prize — First Indians

Field	Recipient	Year
Literature (India's First Nobel)	Rabindranath Tagore	1913
Physics	C.V. Raman	1930
Medicine	Dr. Hargobind Khurana	1968
Economics	Dr. Amartya Sen	1998
Chemistry	Venkatraman Ramakrishnan	2009
Peace	Kailash Satyarthi	2014

Bharat Ratna, Param Vir Chakra, Jnanpith

Category	Recipient	Year
Inaugural Bharat Ratna recipients	C. Rajagopalachari, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and C.V. Raman	1954
First Foreign Bharat Ratna	Abdul Ghaffar Khan	1987
First Posthumous Bharat Ratna	Lal Bahadur Shastri	1966
First Param Vir Chakra	Major Somnath Sharma	1950
First Jnanpith Award	G. Shankar Kurup (Malayalam — Odakuzhal)	1965
First Hindi Jnanpith	Sumitranandan Pant (Chidambara)	1968

⚠ EXAM TRAP Lal Bahadur Shastri = first Bharat Ratna given posthumously, distinct from the inaugural 1954 recipients: Rajagopalachari, Radhakrishnan and C.V. Raman. This distinction is a favourite trap.

Magsaysay, Grammy & Women's Award Firsts

Category	Recipient	Year
First Ramon Magsaysay Award	Acharya Vinoba Bhave	1958
Magsaysay – Government Service	C.D. Deshmukh	1959
First Grammy Award	Pt. Ravi Shankar (with Yehudi Menuhin), West Meets East	Awarded 1968

Award	Recipient	Year
Nobel Prize (Peace)	Mother Teresa	1979
Bharat Ratna	Indira Gandhi	1971
Ramon Magsaysay	Mother Teresa	1962
Norman Borlaug Award	Dr. Amrita Patel	2005
Sahitya Akademi	Amrita Pritam ("Sunehade")	1956
Booker Prize	Arundhati Roy ("God of Small Things")	1997
Youngest Booker Prize Winner	Kiran Desai ("The Inheritance of Loss")	2006
Jnanpith Award (Woman)	Ashapurna Devi ("Pratishruti")	1976
First woman Army officer: Sena Medal for gallantry	Major Mitali Madhumita	Sena Medal for gallantry, 2011
Ashok Chakra	Neerja Bhanot	1987

First in Education

Category	Details	Year
First modern university (1857 system)	University of Calcutta	24 January 1857; modern university system
Open University	Bhimrao Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad	1982
Central Agricultural University	Imphal, Manipur	26 Jan 1993
Defence University	Binola, Gurugram, Haryana	2013
National Rail & Transportation University	Vadodara, Gujarat	2018
National Sports University	Imphal, Manipur	March 2018
District with 100% Literacy	Ernakulam, Kerala	1990
State — 100% Primary Education	Kerala	2016

First in Cinema

Category	Details	Year
Silent Film	Raja Harishchandra (Dada Saheb Phalke)	1913
Talking Film	Alam Ara (Ardeshir Irani)	1931
Technicolour Film	Jhansi Ki Rani	1953
3-D Film	My Dear Kuttichathan	1984
Colour Telecast on Doordarshan	15 August	1982
Sponsored Serial	Hum Log	1984

First in Transport

Category	Details	Year
Passenger Train	Mumbai–Thane (34 km)	1853
Airline	Tata Air Mail / Tata Airlines	1932
Metro Train	Kolkata Metro	1984
Expressway	Mumbai–Pune Expressway (94.5 km)	2002
Train Running on CNG	Rewari to Rohtak	2015
Private Train	Tejas Express (Delhi–Lucknow)	2019

First in Communications

Category	Details	Year
Newspaper	Hicky's Bengal Gazette	1780
First Bengali newspaper	Samachar Darpan (Bengali)	1818
Hindi Newspaper	Udant Martand	1826
International Telecommunications Service	London to Mumbai	1870
Telegraph Line	Diamond Harbour to Kolkata	1851
Woman-run Post Office	Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi	2013

⚡ QUICK RECALL Newspaper (1780, English) → Samachar Darpan (1818, Bengali) → Udant Martand (1826, Hindi). Chronology of language firsts is high-yield.

First in Defence

Category	Details	Year
Nuclear Reactor	Apsara	Aug 1956
Atomic Centre	Tarapur, Maharashtra	Oct 1969
Underground Nuclear Test	Pokhran, Rajasthan	18 May 1974
Indigenous Missile	Prithvi	1988
Medium Range Missile	Agni	1989
Indigenous Nuclear Submarine	INS Arihant	2016
Indigenous aircraft carrier	INS Vikrant	2022

First in Space

Category	Details	Year
Satellite	Aryabhata	1975
First Indian-built INSAT multipurpose satellite	INSAT-2A	1992
Lunar Mission	Chandrayaan-1	2008
Mars Mission	Mangalyaan	2013
Military Communication Satellite	Rukmini (GSAT-7)	2013
Mission to Study the Sun	Aditya-L1	2023

⚠ EXAM TRAP Aryabhata (1975) was India's first satellite but was launched from a Soviet cosmodrome (Kapustin Yar), not from Indian soil — a frequently tested nuance.

Miscellaneous Firsts

Category	Details	Year
Census	1872; Regular Decadal Census from 1881	1872
National Park	Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand	1936
Stock Exchange	Bombay Stock Exchange	1875
Asian Games Organised	Delhi	1951
Project Tiger Launched	Jim Corbett National Park	1973
State to Appoint Lokayukta	Maharashtra	Institution began 25 October 1972
Marine National Park	Kutch Region, Gujarat	1982
Biosphere Reserve	Nilgiri	1986
Commodity Exchange	Bombay Cotton Trade Association	1875; organised futures/commodity exchange
Solar Sarovar	Bhuj, Gujarat	1993
E-Court Initiated	Ahmedabad	2009
Aadhaar Project (UID) Launched	Tembhali, Maharashtra	2010
Commonwealth Games Organised	Delhi	2010
Football Club	Calcutta Football Club	1872
Hydroelectric Project	Sidrapong, Darjeeling	1897
Computer Manufactured in India	TIFRAC	Commissioned 1960; designed and built in India
Antarctic Expedition	Led by Dr. S.Z. Qasim	1982
State — Public Service Rights Act	Madhya Pradesh	2010
Women's Court	Malda, West Bengal	2013
Ultra Mega Power Project	Mundra UMPP, Kutch, Gujarat	Fully operational 2013

Quick Reference Summary

First PresidentDr. Rajendra Prasad (1950–62)

First PMJawaharlal Nehru (1947–64)

First Woman PresidentPratibha Devi Singh Patil (2007–12)

First Woman PMIndira Gandhi (1966–77)

First Nobel (Literature)Rabindranath Tagore (1913)

First Bharat RatnaC. Rajagopalachari, S. Radhakrishnan and C.V. Raman (1954)

First Param Vir ChakraMajor Somnath Sharma (1950)

First SatelliteAryabhata (1975)

First Nuclear TestPokhran (18 May 1974)

First Indian in SpaceRakesh Sharma (1984)

Individual Olympic GoldAbhinav Bindra, Beijing 2008

Olympic Gold — Track & FieldNeeraj Chopra, Tokyo 2021