The first lady to become Miss World: Rita Faria, 1966

The first woman judge in Supreme Court: Mrs. Meera Sahib Fatima Bibi

The first woman Ambassador: Miss C.B. Muthamma

 First woman to receive Jnanpith Award: Ashapoorna Devi (1976) for Prothom Protisruti

First High Court’s woman Chief Justice: Leila Seth (1991), Himachal Pradesh

First woman Governor of an Indian state: Sarojini Naidu (1947, Uttar Pradesh)

First woman President of India: Pratibha Patil (2007)

First woman Prime Minister of India: Indira Gandhi (1966)

First woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha: Meira Kumar (2009-14)

First woman to get Magsaysay award: Mother Teresa 1962, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya (1966)

First woman to win the Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Devika Rani (1969)

First Indian woman to win an Olympic medal: Karnam Malleswari (2000, weightlifting)

First woman in India to receive the ‘Order of Merit: Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (1990)

First Indian woman to win a gold medal at Commonwealth Games: Karnam Malleswari (1998, weightlifting)

First Indian woman to win an Asiad gold medal: Kamaljit Sandhu. Kamaljeet Sandhu who won a gold medal at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games in the 400-meter race.

First Indian woman to win a Grandmaster title: Koneru Humpy (2002, at the age of 15)

India’s first woman to climb Mount Everest: Bachendri Pal (1984)

First Indian woman cosmonaut: Kalpana Chawla (1997, aboard Space Shuttle Columbia as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator)

First Indian woman to win Miss Universe title: Sushmita Sen (1994)

First Indian woman to swim across the English Channel: Arati Saha, 1959

First women IPS officer: Kiran Bedi (1972)

First women IAS officer: Anna Rajam Malhotra 1951

First woman to win an Oscar: Bhanu Athaiya (1982, Best Costume Design for Gandhi)

First Indian woman to receive the Nobel Prize: Mother Teresa (1979, for her work with the poor in India)

First Indian woman to win a Grammy Award: Anoushka Shankar (2003, Best World Music Album for In Concert) Tanvi Shah (2009)

First Indian woman to get the Padma Shri award:  Nargis Dutta

First women fighter pilot of India: Sarla Thakral. In 1936, at the age of 21

The first woman judge in Supreme Court: Mrs. Meera Sahib Fatima Bibi

The first woman Governor of a state in free India: Mrs Sarojini Naidu

The first woman Speaker of a State Assembly: Shanno Devi, Haryana

The first woman Prime Minister: Mrs Indira Gandhi

The first woman Minister in a Government: Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

The first woman President of Indian National Congress: Mrs Annie Besant

The first woman pilot in Indian Air Force: Harita Kaur Dayal

The first woman Graduates: Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu, 1883

The first woman Airline Pilot: Durba Banerjee

The first woman Honours Graduate: Kamini Roy, 1886

The first woman Lawyer: Cornelia Sorabjee

The first woman President of United Nations General Assembly: Mrs Vijaya Laxmi Pandit

The first woman Chief Minister of an Indian State: Mrs Sucheta Kripalani

The first woman Judge: Anna Chandy (She became judge in a district court in 1937)

The first woman Chief Justice of High Court : Mrs Leela Seth (Himachal Pradesh High Court)

The first woman Lieutenant General : Lieutenant General Punita Arora

The first woman to receive Ashoka Chakra : Nirja Bhanot

The first woman to receive Nobel Prize : Mother Teresa

The first woman to receive Bharat Ratna : Mrs Indira Gandhi