List of Indian prime ministerial firsts

This list outlines the accomplishments and distinctions of various Prime Ministers of India. It encompasses achievements attained both prior to and after their terms in office. To maintain clarity regarding diplomatic protocols, only nations that were independent, sovereign, or recognized by India during the respective Prime Minister's tenure are included in their international visits and engagements.

Jawaharlal Nehru (1947–1964)

 * First Prime Minister of independent India.
 * First Prime Minister of a Kashmiri background.
 * First Prime Minister to be educated abroad.
 * First Prime Minister of the Indian National Congress.
 * First Prime Minister to serve over a decade in office.
 * First Prime Minister to face a vote of confidence.
 * First Prime Minister to have an assassination attempt on them.
 * First Prime Minister to be associated with the founding of institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMs).
 * First Prime Minister to visit independent Pakistan, the United States, China, and Russia.
 * First Prime Minister to be awarded Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour of India.
 * First Prime Minister to die while in office.

Lal Bahadur Shastri (1964–1966)

 * First Prime Minister born in the 20th-century.
 * First Prime Minister from a Bhojpuri background.
 * First Prime Minister to not use an original surname.
 * First Prime Minister to succeed the position not having to contest a general election.
 * First Prime Minister to not complete full term in office.
 * First Prime Minister to die overseas.

Indira Gandhi (1966–1977; 1980–1984)

 * First female prime minister.
 * First Prime Minister to be the child of a former prime minister.
 * First Prime Minister to have dropped out and not completed college education.
 * First Prime Minister to lead a minority government.
 * First Prime Minister to lead both the minority and the majority governments.
 * First Prime Minister to serve in non-consecutive terms.
 * First Prime Minister to declare a state of emergency in India.
 * First Prime Minister to order a nuclear test.
 * First Prime Minister to have lost a general election.
 * First Prime Minister to visit Canada.
 * First Prime Minister to be assassinated.
 * First Prime Minister to have an airport named after them.

Morarji Desai (1977–1979)

 * First Prime Minister not from the Indian National Congress.
 * First Prime Minister from the state of Gujarat.
 * First Prime Minister of a Gujarati background.
 * First Prime Minister born outside of Uttar Pradesh.
 * First Prime Minister whose mother tongue was not Hindi.
 * First Prime Minister to previously have served the position of a chief minister.
 * First Prime Minister from the Janata Party.
 * First Prime Minister to defeat a former prime minister in a general election.
 * First Prime Minister to reach ages over 80 and 90.
 * First Prime Minister to be defeated in a vote of no confidence and to resign while in office.
 * First Prime Minister to be awarded Nishan-e-Pakistan, the highest civilian honour of Pakistan.
 * First Prime Minister to outlive former prime ministers.

Charan Singh (1979–1980)

 * First Prime Minister of royal lineage.
 * First Prime Minister of a Haryanvi background.
 * First Prime Minister to serve less than a whole year in office.

Rajiv Gandhi (1984–1989)

 * First Prime Minister born in Maharashtra.
 * First Prime Minister of a Parsi background.
 * First Prime Minister to be both a child and a grandchild of former prime ministers.
 * First Prime Minister to take office in his 40s.
 * First Prime Minister who succeeded a parental prime minister.
 * First Prime Minister who was not involved in the Indian independence movement.
 * First Prime Minister to have a foreigner spouse.
 * First Prime Minister to introduce computerisation in government offices and public sector undertakings.
 * First Prime Minister who was assassinated while not in office.
 * First Prime Minister to die under the age of 50.

V. P. Singh (1989–1990)

 * First Prime Minister from a zamindar family.
 * First Prime Minister affiliated to a royal family.
 * First Prime Minister to be an adopted child of his parents.
 * First Prime Minister to keep facial hair.
 * First Prime Minister from the Janata Dal.

Chandra Shekhar (1990–1991)

 * First Prime Minister who had never held any prior government office.
 * First Prime Minister to keep beard.

P. V. Narasimha Rao (1991–1996)

 * First Prime Minister from South India.
 * First Prime Minister from Andhra Pradesh.
 * First Prime Minister of Telugu background.
 * First Prime Minister who spoke Telugu as his mother tongue.
 * First Prime Minister to be fluent in over five languages.
 * First Prime Minister to lead a minority government to a full term in office.
 * First Prime Minister to be imprisoned after serving the prime ministerial term.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1996; 1998–2004)

 * First Prime Minister born in Madhya Pradesh.
 * First Prime Minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
 * First Prime Minister who was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
 * First Prime Minister not from the Indian National Congress to serve a full term in office.
 * First Prime Minister to address the joint session of the United States Congress.
 * First Prime Minister to address the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi.
 * First Prime Minister to be a bachelor and never married.

H. D. Deve Gowda (1996–1997)

 * First Prime Minister from Karnataka.
 * First Prime Minister of Kannadiga background.
 * First Prime Minister who spoke Kannada as his mother tongue.
 * First Prime Minister from an Other Backward Class.

Inder Kumar Gujral (1997–1998)

 * First Prime Minister born outside the boundaries of modern independent India.
 * First Prime Minister from a Punjabi background.
 * First Prime Minister who spoke Punjabi as his mother tongue.
 * First Prime Minister to write an autobiography.

Manmohan Singh (2004–2014)

 * First Prime Minister of the Sikh religion and first Prime Minister of a non-Hindu faith.
 * First Prime Minister to have earned a doctorate degree.
 * First Prime Minister to have never won a direct popular election.
 * First Prime Minister to lead the country with a female president.
 * First Prime Minister to have a state visit to the United States.

Narendra Modi (2014–present)

 * First Prime Minister born in the independent India.
 * First Prime Minister born after the adoption of the Constitution of India.
 * First Prime Minister to have separated off their spouse.
 * First Prime Minister whose either parent, mother or father, were alive to witness the oath of office of their child.
 * First Prime Minister not from the Indian National Congress to win three consecutive terms and serve over a decade in the position.
 * First Prime Minister to have ever been banned from entering the United States.
 * First Prime Minister to address the joint session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
 * First Prime Minister to address the joint session of the United States Congress, twice.
 * First Prime Minister to be made Grand Commander of the United States Legion of Merit.
 * First Prime Minister to visit Israel.