Flag Code of India (Amendment) Act 2022

The Union government has amended the Flag Code of India, 2002, allowing the tricolour to be made from polyester and other machine-made fabric, besides the traditional hand spun and hand-woven khadi.

Key Amendments

• National Flag made of polyester or machine-made flag have also been allowed.
• The National Flag shall be made of hand-spun, hand-woven or machine-made cotton/polyester/wool/silk/khadi bunting, as per the amended flag code.
• The amended flag code will facilitate the availability of flags in large scale and also make them affordable for the citizens.
• Once the flag code was amended, the government reached out to manufacturers and e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart to boost its availability. They are now available for as low as Rs.30
• Under the aegis of Ministry of Culture, the government has also launched ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’– a nationwide campaign to encourage people to hoist the Tricolour at their homes to mark the 75th Independence Day.
• The amendment has been welcomed by many people including industrialist and a former MP Naveen Jindal, whose petition in 1995 had led to the Delhi High Court allowing hoisting of the national flag by individuals at their private premises.

Criticisms of the Amendment

• The amendment to the flag code has, however, been examined by those who feel the move will fragment the association between the Tricolour, the Independence movement and khadi.
• A section of Khadi weavers and activists have launched an agitation to protest the amendment.
• A nationwide protest has been called by the Karnataka Khadi Gram Udyog Samyukta Sangha (KKGSS) — a unit that spins the fabric used to make the National Flag, which has now paused operations in the wake of the move.
• KKGSS, claiming to be the only BIS approved khadi unit for the material used to make the flag, say they used to get orders worth Rs 3–4 crore every year up to the Independence Day, but in the wake of the amendment this year, the demand has been abysmal.

Flag Code of India (FCI) 2002

The Flag Code of India governs the display of the National Flag by private, public, and government institutions.

§ FCI brings together all laws, conventions, practices, and instructions for use, display and hoisting of the National Flag in the country is guided by this code.

The Flag Code of 2002 is divided into three parts:

• Part I contains a general description of the National Flag.
• Part II depicts the display of the National Flag by members of public, private organisations, educational institutions, etc.
• Part III relates to display of the National Flag by Central and State governments and their organisations.
• On 26th January 2002, the Indian flag code was modified and the citizens of India were finally allowed to hoist the Indian flag over their homes, offices and factories on any day and not just National days as was the case earlier.
• It also stated that there shall be no restriction on the display of the National Flag by members of the general public, private organizations, educational institutions etc. consistent with the dignity and honour of the National Flag.
• Usually, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issues an advisory to all the States and Union Territories to ensure strict adherence of the Flag Code on important national events.
• The Khadi and Village Industries Commission certified KKGSS as the sole manufacturer and supplier of the Tricolour to the entire country.