Indian Holidays

How to use Indian Holidays

Public holidays decide when banks close, offices shut and long weekends happen. This tool lists the public holidays in India for the current and next year, including national holidays such as Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti, along with major festival holidays. Use it to plan leave, trips, bank work and business schedules.

How to use the holiday calendar

Press the button for the current year or for next year to load that year’s list of holiday names and dates. Scan the list from the top, and combine the dates with weekends to spot long weekends and plan leave around them.

Holiday dates for festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Eid and Dussehra depend on the lunar calendar and are announced by the government each year, so dates for future years may be updated later.

• Switch between the current and next year with the two year buttons
• Look for holidays adjacent to a weekend to plan long breaks
• Verify with your employer or bank for state-specific holidays

National, gazetted and restricted holidays

Three days are national holidays observed across India: Republic Day on 26 January, Independence Day on 15 August and Gandhi Jayanti on 2 October. In addition, the central government notifies a list of gazetted holidays for festivals such as Holi, Diwali, Good Friday, Id-ul-Fitr and Christmas.

Central government employees can also take a limited number of restricted holidays from a notified list. State governments publish their own holiday lists, which often add regional festivals like Pongal, Onam, Bihu or Ganesh Chaturthi.

Bank holidays and business planning

Bank holidays follow the RBI’s calendar and differ by state. Banks are also closed on the second and fourth Saturdays and on Sundays. Online banking and UPI remain available, but cheque clearing, branch work and some NEFT-linked settlements can be affected, so plan payments before a holiday cluster.

For businesses, check the holiday list when you set delivery dates, payroll dates and GST or TDS due dates, because filing deadlines that fall on a holiday may move to the next working day.

• Plan salary and vendor payments before a run of holidays
• Confirm state-specific holidays for offices in several states
• Check the RBI list for exact bank closures in your state

Planning long weekends

A holiday on a Friday or Monday creates a three-day weekend, and one on a Tuesday or Thursday may be worth bridging with a single day of leave. Book trains and hotels early for such dates, since prices and demand rise sharply.

Why festival dates change every year

India follows the Gregorian calendar for civil dates, but many festivals follow lunar or lunisolar calendars. Diwali, Holi, Dussehra, Raksha Bandhan and Janmashtami are tied to the Hindu lunisolar calendar and the position of the moon, which is why they fall on different dates each year. Eid and Muharram follow the Islamic lunar calendar, which is about 11 days shorter than the solar year, so they move earlier every year. Fixed-date holidays such as Republic Day, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti and Christmas stay on the same date.

For moon-based festivals, the final date can also depend on the sighting of the moon, so the government may confirm it only a few days before. That is why a holiday can shift by a day from an early estimate.

• Fixed dates: 26 January, 15 August, 2 October, 25 December
• Lunar festivals: Diwali, Holi, Dussehra, Eid, Muharram and others move every year
• Moon-sighting festivals can be confirmed late

Holidays for employees, students and businesses

Employees should check the holiday list in their offer letter or company policy, because private companies choose their own list, often based on the central or state calendar. Some companies give optional or floating holidays that you can pick from a list for festivals you celebrate.

Students should check the school or university calendar, which can add days such as foundation day or exam breaks. Businesses should remember that banks, courts, government offices and stock exchanges each follow their own holiday lists, so check the specific notice before you plan a payment, a filing or a hearing.

Central and state holidays

The list on this page covers central government holidays. State governments add holidays such as regional new years, harvest festivals and the birth anniversaries of local leaders, and some national festivals are not holidays in every state. For exact dates for your state, check your state government’s notification or your employer’s calendar.