Indian Flag Demand Surges Due To Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign

Most of the traders, who were in the business of providing national flags, are busy these days as demand for the Indian tricolour increases in view of the "Har Ghar Tiranga" campaign. Jai Singh Sharma, the owner of Jai Padam Shree Tradex, which has been in trade of providing national flags for more than 30 years, is a busy person.

The trader who was producing just 1,000 flags until this year the trader from New Delhi has been given an order of 7 million flags this year with a due date for August 8. "This year, our business has been extremely strong because of the "Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign," Sharma said. Sharma who has received orders from companies such as National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) along with Indian Railways, among others.

The event, which runs between August 13 and 15, which was initiated by the government in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Independence of India in 1947, has left both producers and suppliers in a frenzy to supply the Tricolour. On a more conservative size, there is an estimated demand of more than 250 million flags across the country however, traders have managed to make and sell just 60 million to date according to the trade body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

"The demand is so huge that the traders of Surat alone, which is the nation's largest market for textiles receive orders of more than 50 millions flags. The manufacturers are working around the all hours to make sure that they deliver their orders on time. In all markets for textiles across Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bihar Workers everywhere are just making flags and not doing any other work," CAIT secretary-general Praveen Khandelwal told reporters.

The greater demand has led to a rise in people are being recruited to create flags. "We have employed more than 500 women from the surrounding regions to stitch flags. On average, one woman can stitch as many as 20 flags, based on the size, according to Anil Roongta who is the director of Nipun Technoweaves, Surat, one of the largest suppliers of flags of the nation in India. "This year, the mood is very different because this campaign" said the director.

Since the Central government granted companies the right to use Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to fund the campaign, numerous corporations have offered to purchase flags in large quantities. Adani Enterprises, the main company of the Adani Group, is procuring 1 lakh flags that are being constructed through a Godda-based (Jharkhand) Women's Self-Help Group. At the same time 10,000 flags made of cotton are being stitched by a women's self-help organization situated in Surguja within Chhattisgarh. Both groups are supported by the Adani Foundation.

Priti Adani who is the chairperson of the Adani Foundation, told "For me I believe this is the essence of freedom in our current times. It is the freedom to make our own choice and lead a life of self-reliance."Bharat Electronics (BEL), a government-owned aerospace and defence electronics company, will be distributing around 20,000 national flags. Employees are also invited to take part in a'selfie with Tiranga project, BEL sources said. Other corporations such as ITC will be celebrating Independence Day with a range of activities that include hoisting the Tricolour throughout the country, a ITC spokesperson stated.