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India's Firsts

First officeholders, women firsts, space firsts, and awards firsts — among the highest-frequency topics in UPSC Prelims.

🏛️ Constitutional & Government Firsts

Office / Position First Holder Year Key Note
President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad 1950 Only President to serve two full terms (1950–1962). Elected by Constituent Assembly.
Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru 1947 Served as PM from 15 Aug 1947 until his death on 27 May 1964. Longest-serving PM.
Vice President of India Dr. S. Radhakrishnan 1952 Also served as 2nd President (1962–1967). His birthday (5 Sep) is Teachers' Day.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) H.J. Kania (Harilal Jekisundas Kania) 1950 Appointed 26 Jan 1950 when Supreme Court was established. Served until Nov 1951.
Lok Sabha Speaker G.V. Mavalankar 1952 Served as Speaker of provisional Parliament and 1st Lok Sabha (1952–1956). Called "Father of Lok Sabha".
Rajya Sabha Chairman (ex officio VP) Dr. S. Radhakrishnan 1952 VP is ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Radhakrishnan was the first VP, thus first RS Chairman.
Attorney General of India M.C. Setalvad 1950 Served from 28 Jan 1950 to 1 March 1963. Longest-serving Attorney General of India.
Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) V. Narahari Rao 1948 First CAG of independent India (1948–1954).
Chief Election Commissioner Sukumar Sen 1950 Conducted the first two general elections (1951–52 and 1957). Also conducted elections in Myanmar.
Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel 1947 First and only Deputy PM in Nehru's cabinet. Known as "Iron Man of India" and "Bismarck of India".
Finance Commission Chairman K.C. Neogy 1951 First Finance Commission constituted in 1951 under Article 280. K.C. Neogy was its chairman.
UPSC Chairman H.K. Kripalani 1947 First Chairman of the Federal Public Service Commission, predecessor to UPSC.

👩 Women Firsts in India

High-frequency Prelims topic. UPSC regularly asks about women firsts across government, civil services, judiciary, and defence. Learn the full list.
Position / Achievement Name Year Key Note
President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil 2007 12th President (2007–2012). First woman to hold the office.
Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi 1966 3rd PM (1966–77, 1980–84). Only woman PM. Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. Awarded Bharat Ratna 1971.
Chief Justice of India None yet — As of April 2026, India has not had a woman CJI.
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar 2009 Speaker of 15th Lok Sabha (2009–2014). Daughter of Jagjivan Ram.
Governor of a State Sarojini Naidu 1947 Governor of United Provinces (now UP), 1947–1949. Known as "Nightingale of India".
Chief Minister of a State Sucheta Kripalani 1963 CM of Uttar Pradesh (1963–1967). Also a freedom fighter and member of Constituent Assembly.
IAS Officer Anna Rajam Malhotra 1951 First woman IAS officer of India (1951 batch, Madras cadre). Later became first woman to head a major public sector undertaking.
IPS Officer Kiran Bedi 1972 First woman IPS officer (1972 batch). Known for prison reforms at Tihar Jail. Also first woman to represent India at the UN.
Judge of Supreme Court M. Fathima Beevi 1989 First woman judge of the Supreme Court of India (1989–1992). Later became Governor of Tamil Nadu.
Indian Air Force Pilot (Fighter) Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth, Mohana Singh 2016 First three women fighter pilots of IAF commissioned in June 2016. Avani Chaturvedi first to fly solo in fighter jet (MiG-21) in 2018.
President of Indian National Congress Annie Besant 1917 First woman president of INC (Calcutta session, 1917). Irish-British social reformer.
Nobel Prize Winner (India-born) Mother Teresa 1979 Nobel Peace Prize (1979). Born in Albania; worked in India. Indian citizen from 1948.
Miss World (Indian) Reita Faria 1966 First Indian to win Miss World title. Later became a doctor.
Chairperson of UPSC Rose Millian Bethew 1992 First woman Chairperson of UPSC (1992–1996).

🚀 Space & Science Firsts

Achievement Name / Mission Year Key Note
First Indian in space Rakesh Sharma 1984 Flew on Soviet Soyuz T-11 (2 April 1984). Spent 7 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes in space. Described India as "Saare Jahan Se Achha" from space to PM Indira Gandhi.
First Indian satellite Aryabhata 1975 Launched 19 April 1975 by Soviet Cosmos-3M rocket. First satellite built by India.
First satellite launched from Indian soil Rohini (RS-1) 1980 Launched by SLV-3 from SHAR (Sriharikota) on 18 July 1980. India became 6th nation to develop indigenous launch capability.
First Mars mission Mangalyaan (MOM) 2013/2014 Mars Orbiter Mission launched 5 Nov 2013; entered Mars orbit 24 Sept 2014. India became first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, and first nation to succeed on maiden attempt.
First lunar south pole soft landing Chandrayaan-3 (Vikram lander) 2023 Vikram lander touched down near lunar south pole on 23 August 2023. India became 4th nation to achieve soft lunar landing, and first to land near south pole.
First Nobel Prize winner (Indian) Rabindranath Tagore 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature for Gitanjali. First Asian to win Nobel Prize.
First Indian Nobel Prize in Science C.V. Raman 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of the Raman Effect (inelastic scattering of light). 28 February celebrated as National Science Day.

🥇 Awards & Honours Firsts

Award First Recipient(s) Year Key Note
Bharat Ratna C. Rajagopalachari, S. Radhakrishnan, C.V. Raman 1954 All three were awarded simultaneously in the inaugural year. Highest civilian honour of India.
Bharat Ratna (Posthumous, first) Lal Bahadur Shastri 1966 First Bharat Ratna awarded posthumously. Died in Tashkent on 11 January 1966.
Bharat Ratna (Woman, first) Indira Gandhi 1971 First woman to receive the Bharat Ratna.
Jnanpith Award (First) G. Sankara Kurup 1965 For the Malayalam work Odakkuzhal (The Flute). Highest literary award in India.
Padma Vibhushan (First) Multiple recipients 1954 Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri were all instituted simultaneously in 1954.
Param Vir Chakra (First) Major Somnath Sharma 1947 Highest wartime gallantry award. Awarded posthumously for action in Kashmir, November 1947.
Ashoka Chakra (First) Multiple recipients 1952 Highest peacetime gallantry award. First awarded in 1952.
Exam tip: For Bharat Ratna, note that it has been awarded to non-Indians too — Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987, first non-Indian) and Nelson Mandela (1990). Also, it has been awarded to sportspersons: Sachin Tendulkar (2014, youngest recipient at 40), and C.N.R. Rao. The award was also given posthumously to BR Ambedkar, Rajiv Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose (all posthumous).