| BHARAT RATNA | |
|---|---|
| 1st Indian to be awarded the Bharat Ratna | C Rajagopalachari |
| 1st Bharat Ratna Awardee to become the President of India | Dr. S. Radhakrishnan |
| 1st person to be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| 1st Scientist to be awarded the Bharat Ratna | CV Raman |
| 1st and only Industrialist to be awarded the Bharat Ratna | JRD Tata |
| 1st woman to be awarded the Bharat Ratna | Mrs. Indira Gandhi |
| 1st sportsperson to be awarded the Bharat Ratna | Sachin Tendulkar |
| LITERARY AWARDS | |
| 1st recipient of Bhartiya Jnanpith award | G Sankara Kurup |
| 1st recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award for English | RK Narayan |
| GALLANTRY AWARDS | |
|---|---|
| 1st winner of Param Vir Chakra | Major Somnath Sharma |
| 1st and only Air Force person to receive the Param Vir Chakra | Flying Officer Nirmaljit Shekhon |
| 1st woman to receive the Ashoka Chakra | Neerja Bhanot (1987) |
| OTHER AWARDS | |
| 1st recipient of Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding | U Thant (1965) |
| 1st recipient of Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development | Parliamentarians for Global Action(1986) |
| 1st recipient of Indira Gandhi Award for International Justice and Harmony | Yasser Arafat (1992) |
| 1st recipient of Outstanding Parliamentarian Award | Shri Chandrashekhar (1995) |
| 1st recipient of Gandhi Peace Prize (Govt of India Award) | Julius Nyerere (1995) |
| 1st recipient of Communal Harmony Award (Individual) | Asghar Ali Engineer, 1997 |
| 1st recipient of Communal Harmony Award (Organisation) | Quami Ekta Trust, 1997 |
| 1st recipient of Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony | Pt. Ravi Shankar, 2012 |
