"First in India" is the most direct topic in Static GK. There is nothing to understand — a post or achievement is named, and you recall the person who got there first. One question comes in almost every SSC and Railway paper, and the same forty-odd names rotate endlessly. This post covers the firsts that are actually asked — governance, defence, space, sports and awards — with the women achievers listed separately, because exams love that angle, and 15 real questions at the end.
Key Points (Quick Revision)
- First President — Dr Rajendra Prasad · First Prime Minister — Jawaharlal Nehru
- First woman Prime Minister — Indira Gandhi · First woman President — Pratibha Patil
- First Indian in space — Rakesh Sharma (1984)
- First Indian to win an individual Olympic gold — Abhinav Bindra (2008)
- First Indian Nobel laureate — Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913)
1. Firsts in governance and the Constitution
| First | Person |
|---|---|
| President of India | Dr Rajendra Prasad |
| Vice President | Dr S Radhakrishnan |
| Prime Minister | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Home Minister & Deputy PM | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel |
| Chief Justice of India | H J Kania |
| Chief Election Commissioner | Sukumar Sen |
| Speaker of the Lok Sabha | G V Mavalankar |
| Governor-General of independent India | Lord Mountbatten |
| Indian Governor-General | C Rajagopalachari |
| Indian ICS officer | Satyendranath Tagore |
Two names in this table pair up in options: Lord Mountbatten was the first Governor-General of independent India, but C Rajagopalachari was the first — and only — Indian to hold that office. Both facts get asked, so read the word "Indian" carefully in the question.
2. Firsts among women — the most asked angle
| First woman | Person |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi |
| President | Pratibha Patil |
| Governor of a state | Sarojini Naidu (United Provinces) |
| Chief Minister | Sucheta Kripalani (Uttar Pradesh) |
| Judge of the Supreme Court | Justice M Fathima Beevi |
| Speaker of the Lok Sabha | Meira Kumar |
| IPS officer | Kiran Bedi |
| To climb Mount Everest | Bachendri Pal (1984) |
| Indian woman in space | Kalpana Chawla |
| To win an Olympic medal | Karnam Malleswari (2000, weightlifting) |
| Miss World from India | Reita Faria (1966) |
| To win the Jnanpith Award | Ashapoorna Devi |
Three of these repeat more than the rest: Sarojini Naidu as the first woman Governor, Sucheta Kripalani as the first woman Chief Minister, and Karnam Malleswari as the first Indian woman with an Olympic medal. Kalpana Chawla is asked as the first Indian woman in space — she flew as a NASA astronaut.
📌 Exam Focus
- Asked most often: first President, first woman PM, Rakesh Sharma, Abhinav Bindra, Tagore's Nobel
- Common trap: first Governor-General of independent India (Mountbatten) vs first Indian Governor-General (Rajagopalachari)
- Remember the years: Rakesh Sharma 1984 · Bachendri Pal 1984 · Malleswari 2000 · Bindra 2008
3. Firsts in space, defence and exploration
| First | Person / detail |
|---|---|
| Indian in space | Rakesh Sharma, 1984, aboard Soyuz T-11 |
| Indian satellite | Aryabhata, 1975 |
| India's first rocket launch site | Thumba, Kerala |
| Field Marshal of India | Sam Manekshaw |
| Marshal of the Indian Air Force | Arjan Singh |
| Param Vir Chakra recipient | Major Somnath Sharma |
| Indian to climb Everest without oxygen | Phu Dorjee |
| Indian to swim the English Channel | Mihir Sen |
| Woman to swim the English Channel | Arati Saha |
The defence pair matters: Sam Manekshaw was the first Field Marshal of the Army, while Arjan Singh held the equivalent five-star rank in the Air Force. Mihir Sen and Arati Saha make another favourite pair — the first Indian man and woman across the English Channel.
4. Firsts in awards, sports and culture
| First | Person / detail |
|---|---|
| Indian Nobel laureate | Rabindranath Tagore, Literature, 1913 |
| Nobel in science (Indian citizen) | C V Raman, Physics, 1930 |
| Bharat Ratna recipients | C Rajagopalachari, S Radhakrishnan, C V Raman (1954) |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | Devika Rani |
| Jnanpith Award | G Sankara Kurup |
| Individual Olympic medal | K D Jadhav, wrestling bronze, 1952 |
| Individual Olympic gold | Abhinav Bindra, shooting, 2008 |
| Khel Ratna recipient | Viswanathan Anand |
| Indian to win a Grand Slam title | Mahesh Bhupathi (mixed doubles, 1997) |
| Miss Universe from India | Sushmita Sen, 1994 |
| Indian film to win at Cannes (Grand Prix) | Neecha Nagar, 1946 |
| Talkie film of India | Alam Ara, 1931 |
The Olympic pair is the trap here: K D Jadhav won the first individual medal (bronze, 1952), while Abhinav Bindra won the first individual gold (2008). Questions phrase it both ways, and the word "gold" decides the answer. Similarly, Tagore was the first Indian Nobel laureate overall, while C V Raman was the first in science.
5. How it is asked in exams — 15 PYQs
- Who was the first President of India? — Dr Rajendra Prasad (SSC GD 2023)
- Who was the first woman Prime Minister of India? — Indira Gandhi (SSC CHSL 2023)
- Who was the first Indian to go to space? — Rakesh Sharma (SSC CGL 2023)
- Who was the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold? — Abhinav Bindra (RRB NTPC 2024)
- Who was the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize? — Rabindranath Tagore (SSC MTS 2023)
- Who was the first woman Chief Minister of an Indian state? — Sucheta Kripalani (SSC CGL 2022)
- Who was the first Chief Justice of India? — H J Kania (SSC CPO 2023)
- Who was the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest? — Bachendri Pal (SSC CHSL 2024)
- Who was the first woman Governor of a state? — Sarojini Naidu (RRB Group D 2024)
- India's first satellite was? — Aryabhata (1975) (SSC GD 2024)
- Who was the first Field Marshal of India? — Sam Manekshaw (SSC CGL 2024)
- Who was the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal? — Karnam Malleswari (SSC MTS 2024)
- Who was the first Indian Governor-General of India? — C Rajagopalachari (RRB NTPC 2025)
- India's first talkie film was? — Alam Ara (1931) (SSC CHSL 2022)
- Who was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India? — Sukumar Sen (SSC CGL 2023)
6. Quick Revision
⚡ Firsts to fix in memory
- Governance: Rajendra Prasad (President) · Nehru (PM) · H J Kania (CJI) · Sukumar Sen (CEC)
- Women: Indira Gandhi (PM) · Pratibha Patil (President) · Sarojini Naidu (Governor) · Sucheta Kripalani (CM) · Fathima Beevi (SC judge)
- Space/defence: Rakesh Sharma (1984) · Aryabhata (1975) · Manekshaw (Field Marshal) · Somnath Sharma (PVC)
- Sports: K D Jadhav (medal 1952) · Bindra (gold 2008) · Malleswari (woman, 2000) · Anand (Khel Ratna)
- Awards/culture: Tagore (Nobel 1913) · Raman (science Nobel 1930) · Devika Rani (Phalke) · Alam Ara (talkie)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the first Governor-General of independent India?
Lord Mountbatten was the first Governor-General of independent India, serving from 1947. C Rajagopalachari succeeded him and remains the first and only Indian to hold the office, which ended when India became a republic in 1950. Exams ask both versions, and the word "Indian" in the question decides the answer.
Who won India's first individual Olympic medal and first gold?
K D Jadhav won the first individual medal — a bronze in wrestling at Helsinki in 1952. Abhinav Bindra won the first individual gold, in the 10m air rifle event at Beijing in 2008. Before Jadhav, India's Olympic success had come through the hockey team's golds.
Who was the first Indian in space, and was Kalpana Chawla Indian at the time of her flights?
Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian in space, flying aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11 in 1984 as an Indian Air Force pilot. Kalpana Chawla, remembered as the first Indian-born woman in space, flew as a NASA astronaut on the US Space Shuttle. Exams usually phrase her as the first Indian woman in space.
Which Nobel Prize came to India first?
Literature. Rabindranath Tagore won it in 1913 for Gitanjali, becoming the first Indian and the first non-European Nobel laureate. C V Raman followed in 1930 with the Physics prize for the Raman Effect, the first science Nobel won by an Indian citizen working in India.
How many questions come from First in India in exams?
Usually one per paper in SSC and Railway exams, and the women-achievers angle appears most often. Around forty names cover nearly every question, and because the facts never change, one properly revised sheet keeps paying back across every exam you write.
For more Static GK lists in simple language, see our Indian Awards and Honours post and the Static GK section. Preparing for a specific exam? Start with the SBI PO guide or join the 100 Hour GS Course.