Gangjee shot three-under 71 on the tough Serapong course and was lying Tied seventh and he was two behind South Africa's Keith Horne who upstaged the tournament's stars by firing an opening five-under 66 to grab the clubhouse lead.
World No. 1 Jordan Spieth shot 67 and was Tied-third at the Sentosa golf course.
Former Asian Tour winner, Gangjee had a bogeyfree round and was looking at a good week to get off to a flying start in the new season.
Shiv Kapur and Himmat Rai carded one-under 70 each to be Tied-21, while Hero Indian Open runner-up SSP Chawrasia, who was part of the Asian team at EurAsia Cup shot even par 71 to be Tied-37th.
Gaganjeet Bhullar struggled to four-over 75, while veterans Arjun Atwal and Jeev Milkha Singh came in with seven-over 78 and Chiragh Kumar, the Panasonic Open winner was way behind with 79. Daniel Chopra was 12-over with one more hole to go.
The 44-year-old, Horne, who is still searching for his maiden victory on the Asian Tour, mixed his card with seven birdies and two bogeys to take a one-shot advantage over Korea's Byeonghun An and world number one Jordan Spieth of the United States after the duo returned with matching 67s.
A total of 57 players will resume their first round rounds at 7.30am with the second round scheduled to commence at 8.10am.
Jordan Spieth showed no signs of nerves despite playing at the Serapong course for the first time. He enjoyed a bogey-free run highlighted by an opening 20-footer birdie putt.
Another big name, Darren Clarke shot three-over 74 as did Thaworn Wiratchant.
