The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday issued new guidelines for singing and playing of the national song Vande Mataram, to all states and Union territories, ministries and constitutional bodies. 

It mandates that a six-stanza-long, 3 minutes and 10 seconds version of Vande Mataram be played or sung at a raft of official occasions, including during the unfurling of the Tricolour, arrival of the President at events, before and after her speeches and addresses to the nation, and before and after the arrival and speeches of governors.

If the national song and the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, are sung or played together, Vande Mataram will be played first, and that the audience shall stand in attention during the singing or playing.

All schools are required to begin their day with the collective singing of Vande Mataram. School authorities must take steps to popularise Vande Mataram, Jana Gana Mana, and respect for the national flag, the MHA guidelines said.

Moreover, the new rules make a significant clarification for cinema halls: audiences are not required to stand when ‘Vande Mataram' is played as part of a film screening, noting that standing during a movie disrupts the presentation and causes disturbance.