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GK - First in Independent India



First (Male) in Independent India

The following table enlists First in India (in male category) after independence −

The First (Male) of Independent India Name Tenure/Time Picture
Who was the First President Dr. Rajendra Prasad Jan. 26, 1950 to May 14, 1962 Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Who was the First Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Aug. 15, 1947 to May 27, 1964 Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
Who was the First (& last) Indian Governor General C. Rajagopalachari June 21, 1948 to Jan. 26 1950 C. Rajagopalachari
The First Indian who went in Space Rakesh Sharma 1984 Mission: Soyuz T-11 Rakesh Sharma
Who was the First Commander-in-Chief Kodandera Madappa Cariappa Jan. 16, 1949 to Jan. 14, 1953 Kodandera Madappa Cariappa
Who was the First President who died while in office Zakir Husain May 13, 1967 to May 3, 1969 Zakir Husain
Who was the First Prime Minister who did not face the Parliament Charan Singh July, 28 1979 to January 14, 1980 Charan Singh
Who was the First Field Marshal of India S.H.F. Jamshedji Manekshaw June 8, 1969 to Jan. 15, 1973 S.H.F. Jamshedji Manekshaw
Who was the First Indian who crossed the English Channel Mihir Sen 1958 Mihir Sen
Who did receive the First Jnanpith Award G. Sankara Kurup 1965 G. Sankara Kurup
Who was the First Speaker of Lok Sabha Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar May 15, 1952 to Jan. 13 1956 Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar
Who was the First Air Chief Marshal Subroto Mukerjee April 1954 to Nov. 1960 Subroto Mukerjee
Who was the First Education Minister Abul Kalam Azad Aug. 15, 1947 to Feb. 2, 1958 Abul Kalam Azad
Who was the First Home Minister (& First Deputy Prime Minister) Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel Aug. 15, 1947 to Dec. 15, 1950 Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
Who was the First Vice-President Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Jan. 26 1952 to May 12, 1962 Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
Who was the First Naval Chief Vice Admiral Ram Dass Katari April 22, 1958 to June 4, 1962 Vice Admiral Ram Dass Katari
Who was the First (Indian) President of the International Court of Justice (Hague) Dr. Nagendra Singh 1985 to 1988 Dr. Nagendra Singh
Who did First receive Param Vir Chakra Major Som Nath Sharma Major Som Nath Sharma
Who did First receive Ramon Magsaysay Award Acharya Vinoba Bhave 1958 Acharya Vinoba Bhave
Who was the First Indian who received Nobel Prize in Medicine Har Gobind Khorana 1968 Har Gobind Khorana
The First Indian who received Stalin (now Lenin) Peace Prize Saifuddin Kitchlew 1952 Saifuddin Kitchlew
Who was the First Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice Hirala J. Kania Jan. 26, 1950 to Nov. 6, 1951 Justice Hirala J. Kania
The First person (Indian) who received Nobel Prize in Economics Amartya Sen 1998 Amartya Sen
Who was the First person resigned from the Central Cabinet Shyama Prasad Mukherjee April 6, 1950 Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
Who was the First Chief Justice of Supreme Court Acted as the President of India (Acting President) Justice M. Hidayatullah July 20, 1969 to Aug. 24, 1969 Justice M. Hidayatullah
Who was the First Finance Minister Shanmukham Chetty 1947 to 1949 Shanmukham Chetty
Who was the First Prime Minister resigned without completing his tenure Morarji Desai March 24, 1977 to July 28, 1979 Resigned in - 1979 Morarji Desai
Who was the First Defence Minister Baldev Singh 1947–1952 Baldev Singh
Who was the First Law Minister Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar Aug. 15, 1947 to Sep. 1951 Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
Who was the First Chief Minister died during his tenure C. N. Annadurai Feb. 1967 to Feb. 3, 1969 Died in Feb. 3, 1969 C. N. Annadurai

First (Female) in Independent India

The following table enlists First in India (in female category) after independence −

The First (Female) of Independent India Female Tenure/Time Picture
The First Woman who became Cabinet Minister (She was Health Minister) Rajkumari Amrit Kaur 1947 to 1957 Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Who was the First Woman Governor (of a state)(She served as governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh) Mrs. Sarojini Naidu 1947 to 1949 Mrs. Sarojini Naidu
Who was the First (& only) Woman Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi Jan. 24, 1966 to March 24, 1977 & Jan. 14, 1980 to Oct. 31, 1984 Mrs. Indira Gandhi
Who was the First Woman Judge of Supreme Court Justice M. Fathima Beevi Oct. 6, 1989 to April 29, 1992 Justice M. Fathima Beevi
Who was the First Woman Ambassador (First woman who cleared Indian Civil Services Exam and first woman who joined Indian Foreign Service) Miss C. B. Muthamma Joined IFS in 1949 Miss C. B. Muthamma
Who was the First Woman President of the United Nations General Assembly Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit 1953 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Who was the First Woman Chief Minister of state Sucheta Kriplani Oct. 2, 1963 to March 13, 1967 Sucheta Kriplani
Who was the First Woman Speaker of Lok Sabha Meira Kumar June 4, 2009 to May 18, 2014 Meira Kumar
Who was the First woman crossed the English Channel (She is first Indian female sportsperson who received Padma Shri in 1960) Arati Saha 1959 Arati Saha
Who was the First woman cosmonaut (from India) Kalpana Chawla In 1997, first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia Kalpana Chawla
Who was the First Indian woman received Academy Award (for Best Costume Design) Bhanu Athaiya 1982 (for movie Gandhi) Bhanu Athaiya
The first Indian female gymnast who won Medal at Commonwealth Games Dipa Karmakar 2014 Dipa Karmakar
Who did receive the First title of Miss World Reita Faria 1966 Reita Faria
Who did receive the First title of Miss Universe Sushmita Sen 1994 Sushmita Sen
Who was the First Woman President Pratibha Devisingh Patil July 25, 2007 to July 25, 2012 Pratibha Devisingh Patil
Who was the First (female) train driver Surekha Yadav 1988 Surekha Yadav
Who was the First woman commercial Pilot Durba Banerjee 1956 Durba Banerjee
The first Indian woman who received the ‘Légion d'honneur’ Dr. Asha Pande 2010 Dr. Asha Pande
The youngest woman who achieved the title of grandmaster (Chess) Humpy Koneru 2001 Humpy Koneru
Who is the first 100% visually challenged Indian Foreign Service Officer NL Beno Zephine 2015 NL Beno Zephine
The First woman who received Jnanpith Award Ashapoorna Devi 1976 Ashapoorna Devi
The First woman who received the ‘Bharat Ratna’ award Indira Gandhi 1971 Indira Gandhi
The first woman (in the world) who climbed Mount Everest twice Santosh Yadav First in – 1992 & Second time in 1993 Santosh Yadav

First in India Before Independence

The following table enlists First in India before independence −

The First in India (Before Independence) Name Tenure/Time Picture
Who was the First President of Indian National Congress Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee 1885 Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee
The First person who cleared the Indian Civil Service Exam (ICS) Satyendranath Tagore 1863 Satyendranath Tagore
The First person who received a Nobel Prize (in literature) Rabindra Nath Tagore 1913 Rabindra Nath Tagore
The First person who received a Nobel Prize (in Physics) C. V. Raman 1930 C. V. Raman
The First Indian who became a pilot (of solo air flight) Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (JRD Tata) 1929 Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata
The First Indian leader who visited England Raja Ram Mohan Roy 1832 Raja Ram Mohan Roy
The first Indian who was appointed as member of the British House of Lords Satyendra Prasanno Sinha 1919 Satyendra Prasanno Sinha
Who were the first (two) female graduates Kadambini Ganguly Passed in 1882 & degree received in 1883 Kadambini Ganguly
Who were the first (two) female graduates Chandramukhi Basu Passed in 1882 & degree received in 1883 Chandramukhi Basu
Who was the First woman honors graduate Kamini Roy 1886 Kamini Roy
Who the first woman to read law at Oxford University (She was the first female advocate) Cornelia Sorabji 1889 Cornelia Sorabji
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