Flag of India

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The National Flag of India (Hindi: Tiraṅgā) is a horizontal rectangular tricolour of India saffron, white and India green; with the Ashoka Chakra, a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, and it became the official flag of the Dominion of India on 15 August 1947. The flag was subsequently retained as that of the Republic of India. In India, the term "tricolour" almost always refers to the Indian national flag. The flag is based on the Swaraj flag, a flag of the Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya.^{[N 1]}

India

Name	Tiraṅgā (meaning "Tricolour")
Use	National flag
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	22 July 1947; 73 years ago
Design	A horizontal triband of India saffron, white, and India green; charged with a navy blue wheel with 24 spokes in the centre.
Designed by	Pingali Venkayya[N 1]

By law, the flag is to be made of khadi, a special type of hand-spun cloth or silk, made popular by Mahatma Gandhi. The manufacturing process and specifications for the flag are laid out by the Bureau of Indian Standards. The right to manufacture the flag is held by the Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission, who allocates it to regional groups. As of 2009, the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha has been the sole manufacturer of the flag.

Usage of the flag is governed by the Flag Code of India and other laws relating to the national emblems. The original code prohibited use of the flag by private citizens except on national days such as the Independence day and the Republic Day. In 2002, on hearing an appeal from a private citizen, Naveen Jindal, the Supreme Court of India directed the Government of India to amend the code to allow flag usage by private citizens. Subsequently, the Union Cabinet of India amended the code to allow limited usage. The code was amended once more in 2005 to allow some additional use including adaptations on certain forms of clothing. The flag code also governs the protocol of flying the flag and its use in conjunction with other national and non-national flags.

Design and construction details

Sizes of the National Flag

Flag size[1][2]	Width and height (mm)	Size of Ashoka Chakra (mm)[3]
1	6300 × 4200	1295
2	3600 × 2400	740
3	2700 × 1800	555
4	1800 × 1200	370
5	1350 × 900	280
6	900 × 600	185
7	450 × 300	90[4]
8	225 × 150	40
9	150 × 100	25[4]

According to the Flag code of India, the Indian flag has a width:height aspect ratio of 3:2. All three horizontal bands of the flag (saffron, white and green) are equally sized. The Ashoka Chakra has twenty-four evenly-spaced spokes.^[5]

The size of the Ashoka Chakra is not specified in the flag code, but in section 4.3.1 of "IS1: Manufacturing standards for the Indian Flag", there is a chart that describes specific sizes of the flag and the chakra (reproduced alongside).^[3]

Both the Flag code and IS1 call for the Ashoka Chakra to be printed or painted on both sides of the flag in navy blue.^[3][5] Below is the list of specified shades for all colours used on the national flag, with the exception of Navy Blue, from "IS1: Manufacturing standards for the Indian Flag" as defined in the 1931 CIE Colour Specifications with illuminant C.^[3] The navy blue colour can be found in the standard IS:1803–1973.^[3]

Materials 3.1.2.2: Colours^[3]

Colour	X	Y	Z	Brightness
India saffron (Kesari)	0.538	0.360	0.102	21.5
White	0.313	0.319	0.368	72.6
India green	0.288	0.395	0.317	8.9

Note that the values given in the table correspond to CIE 1931 colour space. Approximate RGB values for use may be taken to be: India saffron #FF9933, white #FFFFFF, India green #138808, navy blue #000080.^[6] Pantone values closest to this are 130 U, White, 2258 C and 2735 C.

Colour scheme	Orange (Saffron)	White	Green	Navy Blue
Pantone	130 U	White	258 C	2735 C
CMYK	0-40-80-0	0-0-0-0	86-0-94-47	100-100-0-50
HEX	#FF9933	#FFFFFF	#138808	#000080
		255-255-25 Symbolism 0-0-128 Symbolism Flag of India, New Delhi Gandhi first proposed a flag to the Indian National Congress in 1921. The flag was designed by Pingali Venkayya. In the centre was a traditional spinning wheel, symbolising Gandhi's goal of making Indians self-reliant by fabricating their own clothing, between a red stripe for Hindus and a green stripe for Muslims. The design was then modified to replace red with saffron and to include a white stripe in the centre for other religious communities (as well to symbolise peace between the communities), and provide a background for the spinning wheel. However, to avoid sectarian associations with the colour scheme, the three bands were later reassigned new meanings: courage and sacrifice, peace and truth, and faith and chivalry respectively.[7] A few days before India became independent on 15 August 1947, the specially constituted Constituent Assembly decided that the flag of India must be acceptable to all parties and communities.[8] A modified version of the Swaraj flag was chosen; the tricolour remained the same saffron, white and green. However, the charkha was replaced by the Ashoka Chakra representing the eternal wheel of law. The philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became India's first Vice President and second President, clarified the adopted flag and described its significance as follows: Bhagwa or the Saffron denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change.[9]