First in India (Women)

• First Woman President of India : Pratibha Patil
• Delhi’s First Mayor: Aruna Asaf Ali (1958)
• Delhi's First woman chief secretary: Shailja Chandra
• Fastest Asian to swim across the English Channel: Anita Sood
• First all-women crew to fly an air Force Chetak Helicopter: Flight Cadets Cheryl Dutta and Simran Sodhi of IAF (December, 1995).
• First Asian woman magistrate appointed in United Kingdom: Kantha Talwar
• First Asian woman mayor in United Kingdom: Lata Patel
• First Indian woman President of Indian National Congress: Sarojini Naidu (1925)


• First Indian woman producer and director: Fatima Begum, who produced and directed Bulbul-e-Parastan in 1926.
• First Indian woman to become Miss Universe: Sushmita Sen (1994)
• First Indian woman to become Miss World: Reita Faria (1966)
• First Indian woman to climb Mt. Everest: Bachendri Pal
• First Indian Woman to go in space: Kalpana Chawla
• First woman to head any Wakf board in India : Bader Sayeed (TN Wakf Board)
• First Indian woman to reach the final of an Olympic event: P.T.Usha
• First Indian woman to win a medal in an Olympic event: Karnam Malleshwari (bronze medal, Sydney Olympics)
• First Indian woman boxer to win an international event : M.C.Merykom
• First Indian woman to swim across the English Channel: Arati Saha
• First Miss Universe of the new millennium: Lara Dutta
• First woman Ambassador from India: Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (to USSR from 1947-49)
• First woman Central Minister: Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
• First woman chief justice of a High Court: Leila Seth (CJ of Himachal Pradesh, 1991)
• First woman Chief Minister of an Indian state: Sucheta Kriplani (Uttar Pradesh from 1963-1967)
• First woman film star to be a member of Rajya Sabha: Nargis Dutt
• First woman Governor of an Indian state: Sarojini Naidu (Uttar Pradesh from 1947-1948)
• First woman Governor of Tamil Nadu: Justice M. Fatima Beevi (1997)
• First woman IPS Officer of India: Kiran Bedi
• First woman Judge of the Supreme Court: Justice M. Fatima Beevi (1989)
• First woman judicial officer: Anna Chandy, who was appointed munsif in the Travancore state in 1937.
• First woman Minister of an Indian state: Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (Uttar Pradesh)
• First woman officer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to be promoted to the rank of air commodore: 55-year old Padma Bandhopadhyay who was commissioned to the IAF in 1968.
• First woman President of Indian National Congress: Annie Besant (1917)
• First woman President of UN General Assembly: Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (1953-54)
• First woman Prime Minister of India: Late Indira Gandhi (1966-1977 and 1980-1984).
• First woman Speaker of an Indian state: Shano Devi
• First woman Speaker of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly :Kavali Prathibha Bharati
• First woman winner of the Bharat Ratna: Indira Gandhi (1971)
• Grandma Madonna from India: Asha Bhonsle
• India's first commercial pilot: Durba Banerjee (1966, Indian Airlines)
• India's first Test-Tube Baby: Kruti Parekh
• India's first woman railway driver: Surekha Yadao
• India's first woman tabla maestro : Dr Aban Mistry
• India's officially recognized billionth citizen: Astha (She was born on May 11,2000 at New Delhi).
• World's first woman Airbus pilot: Durba Banerjee
• Youngest Indian to swim across the English Channel: Arati Pradhan