| 1. The Chief Minister of an Indian state was the first IITian to be sworn in. |
| 2. He valued simplicity and favored using public transport. |
| 3. Throughout his time as CM, he did not upgrade to a larger residence. |
| 4. There were no allegations of corruption during his term as a minister. |
| 5. He was the initial politician from Goa to serve as Defence Minister. |
| 6. In 2018, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. |
| 7. His mobile phone numbers ended in 1313 and 131213. |
| 8. He formed his first government in 2000 with the help of 13 non-BJP MLAs and returned to power in 2017 with support from 13 BJP MLAs. |
| 9. He never completed a full five-year term as Chief Minister across all four tenures. |
| 10. He was described by PM Narendra Modi as the architect of modern Goa. |
| 11. He introduced schemes as CM including computers for students, direct money transfer to beneficiaries, old age pension, and health insurance, which were later adopted by the Modi government at the national level. |
| 12. In 2020, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour. |
| 13. He was the first IIT alumnus to serve as MLA of an Indian state. |
| 14. He was the first Goan to become a cabinet-rank minister at the Centre. |
| 15. He was the first Chief Minister of a state to continue in office for over a year despite being diagnosed with terminal-stage cancer. |
