IIT Delhi start-up designs stronger, durable fabric for National Flag

NEW DELHI: An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi-incubated start-up, SWATRIC, has designed fabric for monumental national flags that are stronger than ordinary fabric and can withstand harsh climatic conditions in India.

In 2021, SWATRIC partnered with the Flag Foundation of India (FFI), a non-profit, to develop a stronger fabric for monumental national flags to withstand India’s diverse climatic and geographical conditions. “The FFI has already placed two different prototypes by the IIT Delhi startup on the field in Delhi and Ladakh respectively,” said a statement from IIT Delhi.

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“Next month, we are also sending 10 different prototypes to different locations in the country for installation. So far, our research is at the prototyping stage, the exact durability of the flag will be known in the next few months,” said Bipin Kumar, professor in the textile and fibre engineering department of IIT Delhi and mentor of SWATRIC.

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Flag on IIT Delhi campus

IIT Delhi will also have one of its own on campus. “IIT Delhi will soon install a monumental national flag on the campus. The project which is expected to [be] complete by March 2022 has been offered support by Naveen Jindal, founder of Flag Foundation of India and chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), and IIT Delhi alumni,” said the statement.

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An online event called ‘Pride for Tiranga’ was conducted by IIT Delhi on January 24, 2022, where Jindal spoke about the legal battle he initiated which led to the Supreme Court verdict that made flying of the national flag a fundamental right within Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian constitution.