- THE National flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep saffron (kesarin) at the top, white in the middle and dark green at the bottom in equal proportion.
- The ratio of width of the flag to its length is two to three.
- In the centre of the white band is a navy-blue wheel which represents the chakra. Its design is that of the wheel which appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Its diameter approximates to the width of the white band and it has 24 spokes.
- The design of the National Flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22nd July, 1947.
- Apart from non-statutory instructions issued by the Government from time to time, display of the National Flag is governed by the provisions of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
- The Flag Code of India, 2002, which took effect from 26 January, 2002, brings together laws, conventions, practices and instructions to all.
- According to the Flag Code of India, 2002, there is no restriction on the display of the National Flag by members of general public, private organisations, educational institutions etc, except as provided for in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 and any other law enacted on the subject.
STATE EMBLEM
- It is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capitol of Ashoka. In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull and a lion separated by intervening wheels over a bell-shaped
- Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the Capitol is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra).
- In the state emblem, adopted by the Government of India on 26th January 1950, only three lions are visible. The wheel appears in the centre of the abacus with a bull on right and a horse on left and the outlines of other wheels on extreme right and left.
- The bell-shaped lotus has been omitted. The words Satyamev Jayate from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning ‘Truth Alone Triumphs’, are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.
- The use of the state emblem of India, as the official seal of the Government of India, is regulated by the State of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005.