List of First in India – Government and Politics
In this article, we have compiled a comprehensive list of “First in India” in the fields of Indian government, politics, defense, and other fields in the structured table format for easy reference.
If you are preparing for government exams like UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railways, or State PSCs, having knowledge of these historical firsts will significantly boost your general awareness. This knowledge will enhance your success in competitive exams. We have covered the following topics under the “first in India”:
Table of Contents
Let’s begin with the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
Presidents and Vice Presidents
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| First President of India | Dr. Rajendra Prasad |
| First Vice President of India | Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
| First Tribal President of India | Droupadi Murmu |
| First Dalit President of India | K. R. Narayanan |
| First Woman President of India | Pratibha Patil |
| First President of India to Die in Office on 3 May 1969 | Dr. Zakir Hussain |
| First and Only Sikh President of India | Giani Zail Singh |
| First Indian and First Woman to become President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) | Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit |
Prime Ministers
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| First Prime Minister of India after Independence | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| First and only Woman Prime Minister of India so far | Indira Gandhi |
| First Dalit Prime Minister of India | Charan Singh |
| First (and only) Prime Minister of India who did not face Parliament due to government collapsed before facing Parliament | Chaudhary Charan Singh |
| First Prime Minister of India to resign without completing a full term | Morarji Desai |
| The first Deputy Prime Minister of India | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel |
Governors and Governor-General
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| First Governor-General of Independent India | Lord Mountbatten |
| First Indian Governor-General of India | C. Rajagopalachari |
| First Woman Governor of an Indian State | Sarojini Naidu |
| First Indian Governor of a British Province | Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha |
| First Indian Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) | Sir C D Deshmukh |
Ministers of India
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| First Home Minister of India | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel |
| First Finance Minister of India who presented the first budget of India in 1947 | R. K. Shanmukham Chetty |
| First Defence Minister of India | Baldev Singh |
| First Education Minister of India | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad |
| First Woman Chief Minister of an Indian State | Sucheta Kripalani |
| The First Home Minister of India | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel |
| First Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) of India | Sadar Vallabhbhai Patel |
| First women Minister of External Affairs (Foreign Minister) | Smt. Indira Gandhi |
| First full-term Woman Foreign Minister of India | Sushma Swaraj |
| First woman Cabinet Minister in independent India | Rajkumari Amrit Kaur |
| The first woman Cabinet Minister of an Indian state | Shanno Devi |
| The first woman to become the Foreign Secretary of India | Chokila Iyer |
| India’s first woman Minister of State for External Affairs | Lakshmi N. Menon |
| The first woman to serve as the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha | Dr. V. S. Ramadevi |
Judiciary and Constitutional Posts
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| First Chief Justice of India | Justice Harilal J. Kania |
| First Chief Election Commissioner of India | Sukumar Sen |
| First Indian to become President in International Court of Justice (ICJ) | Dr. Nagender Singh |
| First Indian Women of High Court Judge | Justice Anna Chandy |
| First Indian Woman Judge of the Supreme Court of India | Justice M. Fathima Beevi |
| First Woman District Judge in India | Justice Anna Chandy |
| First Woman Chief Justice of a State High Court | Justice Leila Seth |
| India’s First Woman Lawyer (Advocate) | Cornelia Sorabjee |
| First Foreign Secretary of independent India | K. P. S. Menon |
Parliament and State Government
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| First Speaker of Lok Sabha in India | Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar |
| First Woman Chief Minister of an Indian State | Sucheta Kripalani |
| First Lok Sabha Elections in India | Held in 1951-52 |
| The first woman Speaker of a State Assembly | Mrs. Suseela Nayar |
First in India in Other Important Fields
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| First Indian Woman President of the Indian National Congress (INC)during its Calcutta Session | Annie Besant |
| First Indian-Born Woman President of the Indian National Congress | Sarojini Naidu |
| First Englishman to travel to India by Sea | William Finch |
| First British travelers to Journey Overland in India | John Mildenhall |
| First English Merchant and Traveler who visited Akbar’s Court through the Land Route | Ralph Fitch |
| First Ambassador visit to the Mughal court to Arrange a Treat for Trade in India | Sir Thomas Roe |
| First Chinese Pilgrim to visit India | Fa-Hien/Faxian |
| First Indian to reach Antarctica, traveling with an Australian expedition | Lt. Ram Charan |
| First Indian Expedition to Antarctica | Dr. Syed Zahur Qasim |
| First Woman to sing the National Anthem in the Constituent Assembly | Sucheta Kripalani |
| First Muslim President of the Indian National Congress | Badruddin Tayyabji |
| First Indian Citizen to travel to Space | Rakesh Sharma |
| First Cabinet Secretary of India | N. P. Pillai |
| First President of Indian National Congress | W.C. Banerjee |
| The first and only Muslim woman ruler of Delhi Sultanate, India | Razia Sultan |
| First British Governor-General of Bengal | Lord Warren Hastings |
| The first British Governor-General of India | Lord William Bentinck |
| The first British Viceroy of India | Lord Canning |
| The first Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India | Sukumar Sen |
| The first Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army | Gen. Maharaj Rajendra Singhji |
| The first Field Marshal of India | Field S.H.F. Manekshaw |
| First Indian Commander-in-Chief (Air Chief Marshal) of the Indian Air Force | Subroto Mukerjee |
| The first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army | Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa |
| The first Indian Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) of independent India | Vice-Admiral Ram Dass Katari |
| The first licensed Indian pilot | J.R.D. Tata |
| The first Indian to join the Indian Civil Services (ICS) | Satyendranath Tagore |
| The first woman Air Vice Marshal of the Indian Air Force (IAF) | Air Vice Marshal Padma Bandopadhyay |
| The first woman commercial pilot in India | Captain Durba Banerjee |
| India’s first woman diplomat and Ambassador | C.B. Muthamma |
| The first woman Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) | Rose Millian Bathew |
| The first woman chairperson of Indian Airlines | Shrimati Sarojini Datta |
| The first woman Director General of Police (DGP) in India | Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya |
| Indian’s first women to graduate with degrees | Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu |
| Indian’s first woman to graduate with Honors | Kamini Roy |
| The first woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in India | Kiran Bedi |
| First woman Lieutenant General in the Indian Armed Forces | Lieutenant General Puneeta Arora |
| The first woman President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) | Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit |
| First Indian to win the election as Vice-President of INTERPOL for Asia | Frederick Victor Arul |
