Here’s the complete list of “First in India”:
- First Indian to win an Olympic medal: K.D. Jadhav (1952)
- First Indian city to have an airport: Mumbai (1928)
- First Indian woman to win a Nobel Prize: Mother Teresa (1979)
- First Indian to reach the South Pole: Col. I.K. Bajaj (1989)
- First Indian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest: Bachendri Pal (1984)
- First Indian to win a Grammy Award: Pandit Ravi Shankar (1967)
- First Indian to win the Miss World title: Reita Faria Powell (1966)
- First Indian film to win an Oscar: “Gandhi” (1983)
- First Indian to receive a Fields Medal (the equivalent of a Nobel Prize for mathematics): Prof. Manjul Bhargava (2014)
- First Indian to win a Formula One Grand Prix: Narain Karthikeyan (2005)
- First Indian to win a Pulitzer Prize: Gobind Behari Lal (1937)
- First Indian to win the Booker Prize: Salman Rushdie (1981)
- First Indian to travel to space: Rakesh Sharma (1984)
- First Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics: Abhinav Bindra (2008)
- First Indian to win a Paralympic gold medal: Murlikant Petkar (1972)
- First Indian satellite launched: Aryabhata (1975)
- First Indian to win a Grand Slam title in tennis: Mahesh Bhupathi (1997)
- First Indian to win an individual silver medal at the Olympics: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004)
- First Indian to climb Mount Everest twice: Nawang Gombu (1963, 1965)
- First Indian to win an individual bronze medal at the Olympics: Karnam Malleswari (2000)
- First Indian woman to win an Olympic medal: Karnam Malleswari (2000)
- First Indian to win a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships: Neeraj Chopra (2021)
- First Indian to be appointed as the Secretary-General of the United Nations: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1953-54)
- First Indian to win the Ramon Magsaysay Award (often referred to as Asia’s Nobel Prize): Vinoba Bhave (1958)
- First Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Paralympics: Devendra Jhajharia (2004)
- First Indian woman to climb Mount Everest: Bachendri Pal (1984)
- First Indian to win an individual gold medal at the World Badminton Championships: P.V. Sindhu (2019)
- First Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Commonwealth Games: Milkha Singh (1958)
- First Indian to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature: Rabindranath Tagore (1913)
- First Indian to win an individual gold medal at the World Boxing Championships: Mary Kom (2010)
- First successful heart transplant surgery: Dr. P. Venugopal performed the first successful heart transplant surgery in India in 1994 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
- First Indian woman to climb Mount Everest: Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest in 1984.
- First Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics: Karnam Malleswari became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics, winning a bronze medal in weightlifting at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
- First Indian Prime Minister to address the United States Congress: Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Indian Prime Minister to address the United States Congress in 1949.
- First Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal: Abhinav Bindra became the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 10m air rifle shooting event.
- First Indian to win a Nobel Prize: Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
- First Indian to win a Grammy Award: Pandit Ravi Shankar was the first Indian to win a Grammy Award in 1967 for his album “West Meets East.”
- First Indian city to have an all-women police station: Chennai (formerly known as Madras) was the first Indian city to have an all-women police station, which was established in 1992.
- First Indian movie to win an Academy Award: “Gandhi,” a movie about the life of Mahatma Gandhi, was the first Indian movie to win an Academy Award in 1983.
- First Indian to win the Miss Universe title: Sushmita Sen was the first Indian to win the Miss Universe title in 1994.
