BharatNotes Static GK
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 chaired the Sudan Electoral Commission (1953) for Sudan's self-government election. |
| 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 May 2026, India has not had a woman CJI. Justice B.V. Nagarathna is in line to become first woman CJI (expected September 2027, 36-day tenure). |
| 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 Bathew | 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 (3 April 1984). Spent 7 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes in space aboard Salyut 7 space station. 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). It has been awarded to a sportsperson: Sachin Tendulkar (2014, youngest recipient at 40, first sportsperson). C.N.R. Rao (2014, solid-state chemistry) is the scientist recipient from the same year. The award was also given posthumously to BR Ambedkar, Rajiv Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel (not Subhas Chandra Bose — his 1992 announcement was cancelled by the Supreme Court in 1997 and never formally conferred).
