First in India: Administration & Govt. Service

• First President of India – Dr Rajendra Prasad
• First Prime Minister of India – Jawaharlal Nehru
• First Governor of Bengal – Lord Clive
• First Vice President of India – Dr S Radhakrishnan
• First Muslim President of Indian Republic – Dr Zakir Hussain
• First Governor General of Bengal – Warren Hastings
• First Governor General of India – Lord William Bentic
• First Viceroy of India – Lord Caning
• First President of Indian National Congress – W C Banerjee
• First Governor General of Independent India – C Rajgopalachari
• First Indian to pass ICS – Surendra Nath Banerjee
• First Indian ICS Officer – Satyendra Nath Tagore
• First Governor General of India (after Independence) – Lord Louis Mountbatten
• First temporary President of Constituent Assembly – Dr Sachchida Nand Sinha
• First Indian Judge to International court of Justice – Dr Nagendra Singh
• First speaker of Lok Sabha – G V Mavlankar
• India’s first Lok Sabha member to win from record no. of votes – PV Narsimha Rao
• India’s first minister to resign from Union Cabinet – Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
• India’s first Election commissioner – Sukumar Sen
• First Muslim president of Indian National Congress – Badruddin Tayab ji
• First Chief Justice of India – Justice Hiralal J Kania
• First Deputy Prime Minister of India – Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel
• First Indian Prime Minister to resign from office – Morarji Desai
• First Indian Prime Minister to loose an election – Indira Gandhi
• First President of India to die in office – Dr Zakir Hussain
• First Education Minister – Abul Kalam Azad
• First Home Minister of India – Sardar Vallabha Bhai Patel
• First Woman Speaker of Lok Sabha – Meira Kumar (2009)
• First Indian Woman President of INC – Sarojini Naidu
• India’s First Woman President – Pratiba Patil
• India’s First Woman Prime Minister – Indira Gandhi
• India’s First Woman Governor – Sarojini Naidu
• India’s First Woman IPS Officer – Kiran Bedi
• First Woman Chief Minister of State – Sucheta Kripalani
• First Woman Union Minister – Rajkumari Amrita Kaur
• First Woman President of INC – Annie Besant
• First Woman Judge of Supreme Court – Meera Sahib Fatima Bibi
• First Indian Woman Ambassador at UN – Vijalakshmi Pandit

First in India: Defence

• First Commander in Chief of Free India – General K M Cariappa
• First Chief of Air Staff – Sir Thomas Almhirst
• First Indian Chief of Air Staff – Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee
• First Chief of Army Staff – Gen M Rajendra Singh
• First Chief of Naval Staff – Vice Admiral R D Katari
• First Field Marshal – Gen S F J Manekshaw
• First female jawan in the Army – Sapper Shanti Tigga
• First Atomic Submarine of India – INS Chakra
• First Indian Submarine – INS Kalvari
• First Aircraft carrier Indian Warship – INS Vikrant
• First Indian missile – Prithvi
• First medium range missile – Agni
• First Army Institute of Information technology founded at – Hyderabad
• First Chief of Defence Staff of India – Bipin Rawat

First in India: Science & Technology

• First Indian Cosmonaut to go in space – Sqn. Ldr. Rakesh Sharma
• First Large scale Atomic Reactor of India – Apsara
• First person to make Printing Press popular in India – James Hicky
• India’s First Nuclear centre – Tarapur
• First test tube baby of India – Indira (Baby Harsha)
• First Indian Pilot – JRD Tata (in 1929)
• First Indian space Tourist – Santosh George
• First Indian Woman to climb Mt Everest – Bachendri Pal
• First Indian Woman Airline Pilot – Durga Banerjee
• First Indian Woman to go to space – Kalpana Chawla
• First Indian Woman to climb Mt Everest twice – Santhosh Yadhav

First in India: Cabinet Ministers

• First Health Minister of free India – Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
• First woman Cabinet minister of India – Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
• First Defence Minister of free India – Baldev Singh
• First Education minister of free India – Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
• First Home minister of free India – Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel
• First Finance Minister of free India – R K Shanmukhan Chetty
• First Law minister of free India – B R Ambedkar
• First Commerce minister of free India – C H Bhabha

 First in India: 

Prestigious Awards

• First in India to get Bharat Ratna – Dr S. RadhaKrishnan, C Rajgopalachari, C V Raman
• First in India to nominate himself for Bharat Ratna Award – Jawaharlal Nehru
• First in India to win Stalin award – Saifffudin Kichlu
• First in India to win Magsaysay award – Acharya Vinoba Bhave
•  First foreigner recipient of Bharat Ratna – Khan Abdul Gaffer Khan
• First in India to get Jnanpeeth Award – G Shankar Kurup
• First in India to get Paramvir Chakra – Major Somnath Sharma
• First Indian author to get Anderson Award – Ruskin Bond
• First Recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award – Devika Rani in 1969
• First and only Indian to win Nishan-e-Pakistan (highest civilian award of Pakistan) – Morarji Desai in 1990
• First Woman to get Ashok Chakra – Nirja Bhanot
• First Indian Woman to get Nobel Prize – Mother Teresa
• First Indian Woman to get Bharat Ratna – Indira Gandhi
• First Indian Woman to get Jnanpith Award – Ashapurna Devi
• First Woman Musician to get Bharat Ratna – MS Subbalakshmi

Noble Awards

• First in India (was first Asian also) to get Nobel Prize – Rabindra Nath Tagore in year 1913 for literature.
• First Indian Scientist to get Noble Prize- C V Raman
• First scientist of Indian origin to win Noble prize in Physics – S. Chandrashekhar
• First Scientist of Indian origin to get Noble prize in field of Medical Science – Dr Hargovind Khurana
• First Indian to win Noble Peace Prize – Mother Teresa in 1979 (Indian citizen but of Albanian origin)
• First Indian born to win Noble Peace Prize – Kailash Satyarthi in 2014
• First and only Indian to win Noble in Economics – Amartya Sen

First in India: Movies

• First Indian movie – Raja Harischandra by Dadasaheb Falke in 1913 (This was silent movie)
• First Indian movie with sound – Alam Ara by Ardshir Irani in year 1931
• First color movie – Kisan Kanya by Ardshir Irani in year 1937

First in India: Oscar Awards

• First in India ever to be nominated at Oscars – Mehboob Khan for film Mother India in 1958.
• First Indian recipient of Oscar Awards – Bhanu Athaiya (Best Costume design for Film Gandhi in 1983)
• First Indian to win Oscar for lifetime achievement – Satyajit Ray
• First in India to win Oscar for Sound Mixing – Resul Pookutty for film Slumdog Millionaire in year 2009
• First in India to win Oscar for Best original music score – A R Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire
• First in India to win Oscar for Best original Song – A R Rahman and Gulzar shared for Slumdog Millionaire

First in India: Beauty Contests

• First Mr. Universe of India – Manohar Aich in year 1952
• First Mr. International – Aryan Vaid in year 2000
• First Indian Woman to become Miss World – Miss Reita Faria
• First Indian Woman to become Miss Universe – Susmita Sen

First in India: Sports

India at Olympics

• First in India to win individual Olympic medal – K D Jadhav (won bronze medal in 1952 at Helsinki Olympics)
• First India athlete (British Origin) to participate and win Olympic medal – Norman Pritchard (represented India and Asia for first time in 1900  Paris Olympics and won 2 silver medals)
• First in India to win medal in shooting at Olympics – Rajyawardhan Singh Rathod, at 2004 Athens Olympic
• First in India to win individual Gold medal at Olympics – Abhinav Bindra, in shooting in 2008 Beijing Olympics
• First in India to win medal in Tennis at Olympics – Leander Paes, Bronze in 1996 at Atlanta Olympics
• First Indian woman to win Olympic medal – Karnam Malleswari, Bronze in Weightlifting in 2000 Sydney Olympic
• First Indian to win medal in Boxing – Vijender Singh, Bronze in 2008 Beijing Olympic
• First Indian to win medal in wrestling at Olympics – Sushil Kumar, in 2008 Beijing Olympics

India at Cricket

• First Captain in Tests – K. Nayudu for the 1932 tour of England.
• First Batsman to complete 10,000 runs in ODIs – Sachin Tendulkar (he was the first in the World to achieve this feat)
• First Batsman to complete 10,000 runs in Tests – Sunil Gavaskar (he was the first in the World to achieve this feat)
• First batsman to score 50 centuries in Test Cricket – Sachin Tendulkar
• First bowler to take all 10 wickets in an innings – Anil Kumble (against Pakistan)
• First Cricket Club in India – Kolkata (1792) Calcutta cricket club
• First Cricket Stadium – Eden Gardens in Kolkata
• First Cricket tournament – The Bombay Triangular (1905–1911) which later became the Bombay Quadrangular (1912–1936)
• First Cricketer to score 100 centuries in Test and ODIs combined – Sachin Tendulkar (he was the first in the World to achieve this feat)
• First Cricketer to score a century in a Test match – Lala Amarnath, 118 against England in December 1933 at Bombay Gymkhana grounds.
• First Cricketer to score a double century in a Test match – Polly Umrigar, 223 against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1955-56
• First Cricketer to score a triple century in a Test match – Virender Sehwag, 309 against Pakistan in Multan in 2004.
• First Fastest Fifty in a T20 – 50 runs of 12 balls by Yuvraj Singh (vs England in the Inaugural World T20 Championship held in South Africa, 2007)
• First Hat-trick in an ODI – Chetan Sharma against New Zealand in 1987.
• First Indian Captain and the third in history to have led his team to victory after being enforced to follow on – Sourav Ganguly
• First Indian Captain to win more than 21 test matches as a captain – Mahendra Singh Dhoni
• First Indian to score a T20 century – Suresh Raina vs South Africa.
• First Indian to score an ODI century – Kapil Dev, 175* against Zimbabwe in the 1983 Cricket World Cup.
• First Indian to score an ODI double century – Sachin Tendulkar, 200* against South Africa at Gwalior, 24 February 2010 (he was the first in the World to achieve this feat).
• First Indian to score the highest runs in a World Cup – Sourav Ganguly 183 runs V/S Sri Lanka in 1999 World Cup Cricket.
• First Indian to score two ODI double centuries and the highest individual runs in ODI – Rohit sharma, 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014.
• First Nation to win a World Cup Finale on its home ground – India (ICC 2011 Cricket World Cup) Final held at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
• First ODI captain – Ajit Wadekar
• First Six sixes in an Over – Yuvraj Singh in a T20 match vs England
• First Test match – Against England at Lord’s, 25 June 1932
• First test match played in India – India v/s England in Eden Gardens,(Calcutta) (result draw) (5-8 Jan 1934)
• First Test Victory – Against England At Madras
• First Winner of the first T20 World Cup – India (in 2007) against Pakistan.
• First woman to score a double hundred in Test cricket – Mithali Raj [214* against New Zealand at Wellington, 2004]
• First World Cup – At the 1983 World Cup when India beat West Indies in the Finals Under the captaincy of Kapil Dev
• First World Cup Runners up captain – Sourav Ganguly (2003)

India at Chess

• First Grandmaster of India and also the winner of FIDE world Chess championship – Vishwanathan Anand
• Youngest Indian to become Grandmaster – Parimarjan Negi
• India’s first woman to become Grandmaster – Koneru Humpy
• India’s youngest woman to become Grandmaster – Koenru Humpy (at age 15 years of Age)

India at Tennis

• First Indian to win Grand Slam Title – Mahesh Bhupati (in mixed doubles partnering with Rika Hiraki) in 1997 French Open
• First Indian woman to win Grand Slam – Sania Mirza (in Mixed Doubles partnering Mahesh Bhupati) in 2009 Australian Open
• First Indian to win Junior Grand Slam Title – Ramanathan Krishnan, won Wimbledon in year 1954
• First Indian to win Junior French Open – Ramesh Krishnan, won both French and Wimbledon in 1979
• First Indian to win Junior Australian Open – Yuki Bhambri in year 2009
• First Indian woman to win Junior Grand Slam Title – Sania Mirza (in doubles partnering Alisa Kleybanova) in 2003 Wimbledon
• First Indian to win Palk Strait Ocean swimming contest – Baidyanath Nath
• First Indian to swim across English Channel – Mihir Sen
• First Indian to climb Mount Everest without oxygen cylinder – Sherpa Phu Dorji
• First Asian games organised at – Delhi (in 1951)
• First Indian to reach Antarctica – Lt Ram Charan (in 1960)
• First man to climb Mount Everest twice – Nawang Gombu
• First in India to reach North Pole – Sq Ldr Sanjay Thapar
• First Indian to reach South Pole – Col. J K Bajaj
• First Indian to win World Billiards Trophy – Wilson Jones
• First Indian Woman to win WTA Title – Sania Mirza
• First Indian woman who reached Antarctica – Mahel Musa
• First Indian Woman to swim across English Channel – Arati Saha

First in India: Visitors & Travelers

• First foreign visitor to India – Megasthenses (Greek who visited Chandragupta Maurya Court in 305 BC)
• First Chinese pilgrim to visit India – Fa-hein in year 399 AD
• First Muslim visitor/traveler to India – Al Beruni in year 1000 AD
• First European to visit India – Morcopolo (Italian) in 1288 AD
• First Moroccan to visit India – Ibn Batuta in 1333 AD
• First Russian to visit India – Afanasy Nikitin in 1469 AD
• First Portuguese to visit India – Domingo Paes in 1520 AD
• First British to visit India – William Hawkins in 1609 AD
• First American President to visit India – Dwight David Eisenhower
• First British Prime Minister to visit India – Harold McMillan

First in India: Places

• First district with 100 % literacy – Ernakulam district in Kerala, in 1990
• First city with 100 % literacy – Kottayam, Kerala in 1989
• First district to be Polio free – Pathanamthitta, Kerala
• First district to become “total electrified” – Palakkad, Kerala in 2011

First in India: Others

• First e-business newspaper of India – Financial Express
• India’s first open University Andhra Pradesh Open University
• India’s first University – Nalanda University
• First post office in India – Kolkata (in 1727)
• First central PSU to be privatized – Modern Food Industries in year 2000