Various so-called national flags had been used by members of the Indian independence movement prior to independence being achieved in 1947. However, Pingali Venkayya, a farmer from Machilipatnam, conceptualised the final Indian national flag, with tri-colour and the chakra in the middle. Venkayya’s version was first designed for the Indian National Congress and subsequently modified in 1947. Pingali Venkayya was an authority in geology, agriculture and also an educationist who set up an educational institution in Machilipatnam. He died in poverty in 1963. A postage stamp was issued to commemorate him in 2009.