The Flag Puts to Sea: The Naval Ensign

The canton on the quarterdeck

Rendered without a single loose thread, this flag flies the way naval standards are kept — immaculate, squared, inspection-ready. The association is fair: the tricolour genuinely goes to sea.

It sails in the corner of another flag. Every Indian warship flies the naval ensign, and the national flag occupies its upper canton, nearest the mast — the tricolour leading the ensign’s field. The design was renewed on 2 September 2022, unveiled the day INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier, joined the fleet.