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First in India: GK questions and answers

Who was the first? Questions about the Indians who did something before anyone else are favourites in every quiz. Here are the ones every student should know.

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Ten questions picked at random from this topic, four choices each. Or go through every question as flash cards.

20 questions on first in India

  1. Who was the first woman Prime Minister of India? Indira Gandhi
  2. Who was the first woman President of India? Pratibha Patil She held office from 2007 to 2012.
  3. Who was the first Indian to go into space? Rakesh Sharma He flew in 1984.
  4. Who was the first woman of Indian origin to go into space? Kalpana Chawla
  5. Who was the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize? Rabindranath Tagore He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
  6. Who was the first Indian to win the Nobel Prize in Physics? C. V. Raman He won it in 1930 for the Raman effect.
  7. Who was the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal? Abhinav Bindra He won it in shooting at Beijing in 2008.
  8. Who was the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest? Bachendri Pal She reached the summit in 1984.
  9. What was the name of India's first satellite? Aryabhata It was launched in 1975.
  10. Who was the first woman IPS officer of India? Kiran Bedi
  11. Who was the first Field Marshal of India? Sam Manekshaw
  12. Who was the first woman Governor of an Indian state? Sarojini Naidu She is called the Nightingale of India.
  13. Who was the first woman Chief Minister of an Indian state? Sucheta Kripalani She was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
  14. Who was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India? Fathima Beevi
  15. Who was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha? G. V. Mavalankar
  16. Which was the first full-length Indian feature film? Raja Harishchandra It was made by Dadasaheb Phalke in 1913.
  17. Which was the first Indian film with sound (talkie)? Alam Ara It was released in 1931.
  18. Between which two places did the first passenger train in India run in 1853? Bombay and Thane
  19. Who was the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal? Karnam Malleswari She won a bronze in weightlifting at Sydney in 2000.
  20. Who was the first Vice-President of India? Dr S. Radhakrishnan

These are well-established facts, written in our own words and last checked on 11 November 2026. If your textbook says something different, follow your textbook and tell us.

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