New Delhi: Indian Navy is all set to get a new ensign (flag). It will be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kochi on September 2. It will coincide with the commissioning of India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at Cochin Shipyard Limited.
The last change was made in 2014, 2004, 2001 and before that in 1950.
The design of the new ensign has not yet been made public.
The present ensign carries the Saint George Cross with the Tricolour in the canton or the top left corner of the flag.
The pre-Independence ensign of the Indian Navy had the red George Cross on a white background with the Union Jack of the United Kingdom on the top left corner. It continued after Independence, on August 15, 1947. However, On January 26, 1950, an Indianised pattern was made. The Union Jack was replaced with the Tricolour, and the George Cross was retained.
In 2001, the George Cross was replaced with the naval crest in the middle of the white flag while the Tricolour remained on the top left corner. In 2004, upon complaints that the new flag was indistinguishable because the blue of the Navy crest merged with the skies and the sea, the ensign was again changed back to the Red George Cross. The red George Cross now had the state emblem in the middle. There was another change in 2014 when the words ‘Satyamev Jayate’ were included on the flag below the Ashoka emblem in Devanagri script.
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