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The national flag of India was initially designed by Pingali Venkayya and has been in its present form since its finalization in an ad hoc meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on the 22 July 1947. The Indian national flag has served as the national flag of the Dominion of India from 15 August 1947 to 26 January 1950 and that of the Republic of India afterwards. The flag is a horizontal tricolor of deep saffron at the top, white at the middle stripe, and green at the bottom. There is a navy blue wheel with twenty four spokes on the middle white stripe. This navy blue wheel is called the “Ashoka Chakra” and has been adapted from the Ashoka pillar in Sarnath. The diameter of this Chakra is three-fourths of the width of the white stripe. The significance of the flag of India was clarified by India's first Vice-President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Saffron color signifies renunciation and disinterestedness in material gains. White color signifies light, the path of truth to guide us, and the green color at the bottom signifies fertility and our relation to soil. The “Ashoka Chakra” with its 24 spokes signifies 24 hours of a day.
