Murmu presents President’s Standard and Colors to four IAF units
- March 9, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Murmu presents President’s Standard and Colors to four IAF units
Subject: Polity
Section: Msc
Context:
- President Droupadi Murmu on March 8 presented the President’s Standard’s to two fighter squadrons of IAF and President’s Colors to two formations at Hindon Air Force station.
More on news:
- This is the first time in the history of the service that four units have been awarded the President’s Standard and Colors together in a single ceremony.
- These include:
- No. 45 ‘Flying Daggers’, the first Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) squadron of the IAF and No. 221 Squadron ‘Valiants’ which flew almost one-third of all offensive missions of the IAF during the 1999 Kargil conflict will be at President’s Standard.
- The 11 Base Repair Depot (BRD) and 509 Signal Unit (SU) will be awarded President’s Colors.
- The award of the President’s Standard and Colors is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon any military unit.
Presidential standard of India:
- The presidential standard of India was a flag flown by the president of India from 1950 to 1971.
- It succeeded the flag of the governor-general of India (used during the 1947–1950 period of the Dominion of India) on 26 January 1950, when India became a republic.
- It ceased being used on 15 August 1971, when the president began using the national flag of India.
- The standard was a rectangle divided quarterly into blue and red quadrants. Each quadrant was occupied by national symbols drawn in gold outline. The symbols were-
- 1st quarter: The Lion Capital of Ashoka, which is the State Emblem of India, to represent unity;
- 2nd quarter: A lively Indian elephant from a 5th-century painting of Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra to represent patience and strength;
- 3rd quarter: A weighing scale from the 17th-century Red Fort, Delhi, to represent justice and economy;
- 4th quarter: A vase of Indian lotus from Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh to represent prosperity.
President’s Colour Award:
- The President’s Colour Award is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon any military unit of India.
- It is also known as Nishaan, which is an emblem that is worn by all unit officers on the left-hand sleeve of their uniform.
- While the practice of carrying the Colour into battle has stopped, the tradition of receiving, holding and parading the Colour continues even today in the Armed forces.
- The President’s Colors is very significant, if the unit loses their colors, it is a disgrace for that unit and, if the unit captured the enemy’s colors then it is a great honor for that unit.