GK - List of firsts in India ( 4 )
Science
The first president of the inaugural session of the Indian Science Congress :Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee in 1914Hydroelectric plant: Sidrapong near Darjeeling, commissioned in 1897, followed by the Gaganachukki waterfall of the Sivasamudram Falls, Mysore Kingdom, built in 1902.
Place to get electricity: Darjeeling in 1897, followed by Calcutta in 1898 and Kolar Gold Fields in 1902.
Man in space: Rakesh Sharma aboard Soyuz T-11, on 3 April 1984. He was the 138th man in space worldwide.
Woman in space: Kalpana Chawla aboard Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87, on 19 November 1997. She was a naturalized United States citizen, and represented the US during the event.
Test-tube baby: Durga Agarwal, born 1978
Scientific Expedition to Antarctica: 1981
Nuclear Reactor: Apsara, Mumbai, Maharashtra
First Genetically Modified Food Product in India : Bt. Egg plant Hybrid (Bt. -- Bacilius thuringiensis)
Satellite : Aryabhata, launched on 19 April 1975
Satellite dedicated exclusively for educational services : EDUSAT
Successfully indigenous launch vehicle : SLV-3
Prospective space tourist: Santhosh George Kulangara, proposed in 2009 aboard Virgin Galactic
Cloned Animal : Bhass, sampura
In 1850, the first experimental electric telegraph line was started between Kolkata and Diamond Harbor. In 1851, it was opened for the use of the British East India Company
1854: Telegraph service opened to the Public
First telephone exchange: On 28 January 1882, Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of India's Council declared open the Telephone Exchanges in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The exchange in Calcutta named the "Central Exchange", was opened at third floor of the building at 7, Council House Street, with a total of 93 subscribers. Later that year, Bombay also witnessed the opening of a telephone exchange.
1902 - First wireless telegraph station established between Sagar Islands and Sandheads.
1907 - First Central Battery of telephones introduced in Kanpur.
1913-1914 - First Automatic Exchange installed in Shimla.
1927 - Radio-telegraph system between the UK and India, with Imperial Wireless Chain beam stations at Khadki and Daund. Inaugurated by Lord Irwin on 23 July by exchanging greetings with King George V.
1933 - Radiotelephone system inaugurated between the UK and India.
1953 - 12 channel carrier system introduced.
1960 - First subscriber trunk dialing route commissioned between Lucknow and Kanpur.
1975 - First PCM system commissioned between Mumbai City and Andheri telephone exchanges.
1976 - First digital microwave junction introduced.
1979 - First optical fibre system for local junction commissioned at Pune.
1980 - First satellite earth station for domestic communications established at Secunderabad, A.P..
1983 - First analog Stored Program Control exchange for trunk lines commissioned at Mumbai.
1984 - First Underground Metro Railways System at Calcutta.
1984 - C-DOT established for indigenous development and production of digital exchanges.
1995 - First mobile telephone service started on non-commercial basis on 15 August 1995 in Delhi.
