First in India (Miscellaneous)

• Earliest school of medicine known to humans: Ayurveda
• First Air Force in Asia to fly jets: Indian Air Force (1948)
• First Book in any Indian Language: It was printed in 1578 in Tamil.
• First Census in India: 1901
• First Cinema House in India: It was built by J.F.Madan in 1907 in Calcutta.
• First complete Technicolor film: Jhansi Ki Rani (1953)
• First Constitutional Amendment: 1950
• First country-wide agricultural census: 1970-71
• First English Newspaper in India: Bengal Gazette printed in 1790 by James Augustus in Calcutta.


• First Film Centre: Nandan. Located in Calcutta, it was inaugurated in September 1985.
• First Film with an all-female cast: Marathi Film Bindhast, directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni.
• First Five-Year Plan: Started in 1951
• First General Elections: They were held in 1952.
• First hydroelectric project in India: Shivasamudram, across the River Kaveri in 1902
• First Indian state to set up a women's court: Andhra Pradesh
• First international co-production: Nala Damayanti (1921) made in collaboration with Italy.
• First Marine National Park: Jamnagar
• First Moonlit Animal House in Asia: Located in the Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad.
• First Navodaya School: Navegaon-Khairi in Nagpur
• First Postage Stamp: It was issued in India in 1852 at Karachi.
• First Printing Press: It was set up in Goa in 1556 by the Portuguese.
• First Railway Line: It was opened on April 16, 1853 between Bombay and Thane.
• First Rupee in India: It was minted during the reign of Sher Shah Suri in 1542.
• First ship built in India: Jala Usha built by Vishakapatnam Shipyard was commissioned in 1948.
• First silent feature film in India: Pundalik made in 1912 by N.G. Chitre and R.G. Torney. It was half British in its make.
• First solar crematorium: It is proposed to be set up in Valsad, Gujarat.
• First Solar Energy Centre: Gwalpahar, Gurgaon, Haryana
• First song-less film: JBH Wadia's Naujawan (1937).
• First south Indian film to be released in Korea: Tamil Film Muthu Maharaja (June, 2000)
• First Talkie Film: Alam Ara (1931)
• First Telefilm: Satyajit Ray's Sadgati (telecast on Doordarshan in April 1981)
• First Telegraph Line: It was laid between Calcutta and Agra in 1854. This line was 1280 km long. It was extended up to Lahore in 1857.
• First Telephone system: It was started in 1881 from Calcutta.
• First Television Reception Centre: Arvi, located in Maharashtra
• First veterinary college: Opened in Parel in Bombay in 1885. It is still in existence and is the oldest veterinary college in Asia.
• First Wind farm: Mandvi, Kutch in Gujarat
• Highest Airfield in the world: Thoise, Ladakh
• Highest road in India: Khardung La Pass
• India's first Antartica expedition: January 11, 1982
• India's first Satellite: Aryabhatta, April 19, 1975
• India's first colour film: Prabhat's Sairandhri, which was processed and printed in Germany in 1933.
• India's first fully indigenous silent feature film: Raja Harishchandra produced by Dada Saheb Phalke on May 3, 1913.
• India's first indigenously built missile destroyer: INS 'Delhi' (commissioned on November 15, 1997 at Mumbai).
• India's first indigenously built submarine: INS 'Shakti' (commissioned on February 7, 1992)
• India's first indigenously made colour film: Ardashir Irani's Kisan Kanya made in 1937.
• India's first manufacturer of light bulbs and electrical equipment: Bengal Lamps, Calcutta (1933)
• India's First Oil well: Digboi (1890)
• India's first radio programme: This was broadcast privately with a 40w transmitter by the Madras Presidency Club Radio in 1924.
• India's largest inland lake: Lake Chilika, Orissa
• Largest circulated multi-edition daily in India: Roudramukhi Swar in Hindi (12,92,277 copies in 1997).
• Largest circulated periodical in India: Malayala Manorama (11,27,414 copies)
• Largest circulated single edition newspaper in India: Hindustan Times from Delhi (5,40,919 copies in 1997).
• Largest Nandi in India: Nandi of the Leepakshi Temple at Andhra Pradesh
• Largest Stupa in India: Mahachaitya Stupa, Amravati, Andhra Pradesh
• Oldest era in the world: Hindu Era
• Oldest para-military force in India: Assam Rifles (1835) in Shillong
• Only Place in the world where a Brahmat Temple is found: Pushkar in Rajasthan
• Shortest era in the world: Christian Era
• State with the highest % of Scheduled Castes to total population: Punjab (28.31% - 1991 Census)
• State with the highest% of Scheduled tribes to total population: Mizoram (94.75%)
• State with the largest number of Scheduled Castes: Uttar Pradesh (29.276 million - 1991 Census)
• State with the largest number of Scheduled Tribes: Madhya Pradesh (15.399 million - 1991 Census)
• State with the largest number of towns: Uttar Pradesh (704)
• State with the largest number of villages: Uttar Pradesh (1,12,803 - 1991 Census)
• State with the least number of towns: Nagaland (7)
• State with the lowest % of Scheduled tribes to total population: Uttar Pradesh (0.21%)
• State with the lowest number of Scheduled Castes: Mizoram (1000 - 1991 Census)
• State with the lowest number of Scheduled Tribes: Sikkim (91,000)
• State with the lowest number of villages: Goa (360 - 1991 Census)
• World's First University: Taxila (700 B.C.)
• World's highest STD/PCO facilities: Siachen glacier (established in November 1997)
• World's largest school: The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes City Montessori School in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, as the world's largest school with 23,000 students on its rolls.
• Youngest para-military force in India: Coast Guard (1978)