Firsts in India (Female)
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Political & Governance Leaders
| Achievement / Role | Name | Details / Year |
| First Woman President of India | Pratibha Patil | 2007–2012 |
| First Tribal & Current Woman President | Droupadi Murmu | 2022–Present |
| First Woman Prime Minister of India | Indira Gandhi | 1966–1977, 1980–1984 |
| First Woman Governor of an Indian State | Sarojini Naidu | Uttar Pradesh (1947–1949) |
| First Woman Chief Minister of an Indian State | Sucheta Kripalani | Uttar Pradesh (1963–1967) |
| First Woman Ruler on Delhi’s Throne | Razia Sultana | 1236–1240 |
| First Woman Union Cabinet Minister | Rajkumari Amrit Kaur | Minister of Health (1947–1957) |
| First Woman Speaker of Lok Sabha | Meira Kumar | 2009–2014 |
| First Woman Speaker of a State Assembly | Shanno Devi | Haryana Legislative Assembly (1966) |
| First Woman President of INC | Annie Besant | 1917 (First female overall) |
| First Indian Woman President of INC | Sarojini Naidu | 1925 (First Indian female) |
| First Woman External Affairs Minister (Full-time) | Sushma Swaraj | 2014–2019 |
| First Woman Defence Minister (Full-time) | Nirmala Sitharaman | 2017–2019 |
| First Woman Finance Minister (Full-time) | Nirmala Sitharaman | 2019–Present |
| First Woman Railway Minister | Mamata Banerjee | 1999–2001, 2009–2011 |
Judiciary, Civil Services & Administration
| Achievement / Role | Name | Details / Year |
| First Woman Judge of the Supreme Court | M. Fathima Beevi | Appointed 1989 |
| First Woman Chief Justice of a High Court | Leila Seth | Himachal Pradesh High Court (1991) |
| First Woman Judge of a High Court | Anna Chandy | Kerala High Court (1959) |
| First Woman I.P.S. Officer | Kiran Bedi | 1972 |
| First Woman I.A.S. Officer | Anna Rajam Malhotra | 1951 |
| First Woman I.F.S. Officer / Ambassador | C. B. Muthamma | 1949 (Ambassador to Hungary) |
| First Woman Chairperson of UPSC | Rose Millian Bethew | 1992 |
First Woman Director General of Police (DGP) | Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya | Uttarakhand (2004) |
| First Woman Advocate / Lawyer | Cornelia Sorabji | 1892 |
| First Woman Chief Election Commissioner | V. S. Ramadevi | 1990 |
| First Woman CEO & Chairperson of Railway Board | Jaya Verma Sinha | 2023 |
Defence, Aviation & Space
| Achievement / Role | Name | Details / Year |
| First Indian Woman to go into Space | Kalpana Chawla | 1997 (STS-87 Mission) |
| First Woman Pilot in India | Sarla Thakral | 1936 |
| First Indian Woman Airline Pilot | Durba Banerjee | 1956 |
| First Woman Pilot in Indian Air Force (IAF) | Harita Kaur Deol | 1994 (Flew Avro HS-748 solo) |
| First Female Fighter Pilots of IAF | Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi, Mohana Singh | Inducted 2016 |
| First Female Rafale Fighter Pilot | Shivangi Singh | 2020 |
| First Woman Lieutenant General | Puneeta Arora | Indian Army (2004) |
| First Woman Air Vice Marshal | Padmavathy Bandopadhyay | Indian Air Force (2002) |
| First Female Train Driver (Loco Pilot) | Surekha Yadav | 1988 |
Medicine, Education, Science & Business
| Achievement / Role | Name | Details / Year |
| First Female Physician / Doctor | Anandi Gopal Joshi / Kadambini Ganguly | Graduated 1886 |
| First Female School Teacher | Savitribai Phule | 1848 |
| First Woman Science Graduate & Doctorate (D.Sc.) | Asima Chatterjee | 1944 |
| First Woman Engineer | A. Lalitha | Graduated 1943 |
| First Woman Chairperson of State Bank of India (SBI) | Arundhati Bhattacharya | 2013 |
| First Female Neurosurgeon | T. S. Kanaka | 1968 |
Arts, Literature & Entertainment
| Achievement / Role | Name | Details / Year |
| First Woman to win Jnanpith Award | Ashapurna Devi | 1976 (For Prothom Pratishruti) |
| First Indian Woman to win Booker Prize | Arundhati Roy | 1997 (The God of Small Things) |
| First Woman Sahitya Akademi Awardee | Amrita Pritam | 1956 (For Sunehade) |
| First Indian Woman to win an Oscar | Bhanu Athaiya | 1983 (Costume Design, Gandhi) |
| First Woman Recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award | Devika Rani | 1969 |
| First Indian Woman to win ‘Miss World’ | Reita Faria | 1966 |
| First Indian Woman to win ‘Miss Universe’ | Sushmita Sen | 1994 |
| First Indian Woman Ambassador at United Nations | Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit | 1953 (President of UN General Assembly) |
Sports & Adventure
| Achievement / Role | Name | Details / Year |
| First Indian Woman to Climb Mt. Everest | Bachendri Pal | 1984 |
| First Indian Woman to Climb Mt. Everest Twice | Santosh Yadav | 1992, 1993 |
| First Indian Woman to Swim Across English Channel | Arati Saha | 1959 |
| First Indian Woman to win an Olympic Medal | Karnam Malleswari | 2000 Sydney (Bronze, Weightlifting) |
| First Indian Woman to win an Olympic Silver | P. V. Sindhu | 2016 Rio (Badminton) |
| First Indian Woman to win Gold in Asian Games | Kamaljeet Sandhu | 1970 (400m race) |
| First Indian Woman Individual Gold Medalist at Asian Games | P. T. Usha | 1986 Seoul Asian Games |
| First Indian Woman to win WTA Title | Sania Mirza | 2005 |
| First Indian Woman Grandmaster in Chess | Koneru Humpy | 2002 |
| First Indian Female Boxer to win Olympic Medal | M. C. Mary Kom | 2012 London (Bronze) |
| First Indian Female Wrestler to win Olympic Medal | Sakshi Malik | 2016 Rio (Bronze) |
National Honours & High Recognition
| Achievement / Role | Name | Details / Year |
| First Indian Woman to receive Nobel Peace Prize | Mother Teresa | 1979 |
| First Indian Woman to receive Bharat Ratna | Indira Gandhi | 1971 |
| First Woman Musician to receive Bharat Ratna | M. S. Subbulakshmi | 1998 |
| First Woman to receive Ashok Chakra | Neerja Bhanot | 1987 (Posthumous) |
| First Female Recipient of Magsaysay Award | Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay | 1966 |