| The first Indian woman to be awarded the Bharat Ratna - Smt Indira Gandhi. |
| The first lady Governor of an Indian state was Smt Sarojini Naidu. |
| The first lady Chief Minister of State was Smt Sucheta Kripalani. |
| The first lady Central minister of the country was Smt Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. |
| The first woman president of the Indian National Congress was Mrs. Annie Besant. |
| The first woman to become the Chief Election Commissioner was Mrs Rama Devi. |
| The first Indian woman to be appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner - Ms. Deepak Sandhu. |
| The first woman to be appointed the Speaker of Lok Sabha is Mrs Meira Kumar. |
| The first woman to be appointed the Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha was Mrs Violet Alva. |
| The first woman president of UN General Assembly - Mrs Vijayalaxmi Pandit. |
| The first woman advocate of India was Ms. Cornelia Sorabjee. |
| The first woman judge of India and also the first woman judge of High Court was Justice Anna Chandy. |
| The first woman to be appointed Chief Justice of a state High Court was Justice Leila Seth. |
| The first woman to be appointed judge of the Supreme Court was Justice M Fatima Beevi. |
| The first Indian woman to swim the English Channel was Aarti Saha. |
| The first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal was Karnam Malleswari. |
| The first Indian woman to win an Asiad medal - Kamaljit Sandhu. |
| The first Indian woman to climb Mt Everest - Bachendri Pal. |
| The first Indian woman to ski to the South Pole - Reena Kaushal DharmaShaktu |
| The first Indian woman to receive a gallantry award in the Indian Army (Sena Medal for her acts of bravery in Afghanistan) - Major Mitali Madhumita. |
| The first Indian woman to join the Territorial Army as a jawan - Shanti Tigga. |
| The first Indian woman to win the Miss Asia-Pacific title - Zeenat Aman. |
| The first Indian woman to win the Miss Universe title - Sushmita Sen. |
| The first Indian woman to win the Miss World title - Reita Faria. |
| The first Indian woman to win the Miss Earth title - Nicol Faria. |
| The first Indian woman to be appointed as the Minister of External Affairs of India - Sushma Swaraj. (Note: Mrs. Indira Gandhi held the additional charge as Minister of External Affairs while being the Prime Minister of India.) |