India Gazetted Holidays 2026
India has 17 central gazetted holidays in 2026, fixed by DoPT O.M. F.No.12/2/2023-JCA dated 3 July 2025. Diwali falls on Sunday, November 8 and Independence Day on Saturday, August 15 — no substitute weekday is granted for either. Six holidays land on a Friday, and the late-March run from Ram Navami through Good Friday is the best stretch of the year for taking leave.
Gazetted holidays
17
Long weekends
10 (6 automatic)
Longest break
6 days
Diwali 2026
Sun, Nov 8
2026 India calendar
01January
02February
03March
04April
05May
06June
07July
08August
09September
10October
11November
12December
India public holiday list
| Date | Day | Holiday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 26, 2026 | Monday | Republic DayMonday. National holiday — mandatory for all establishments.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| March 4, 2026 | Wednesday | HoliWednesday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| March 21, 2026 | Saturday | Id-ul-FitrSaturday. Subject to moon sighting; no substitute weekday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| March 26, 2026 | Thursday | Ram NavamiThursday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| March 31, 2026 | Tuesday | Mahavir JayantiTuesday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| April 3, 2026 | Friday | Good FridayFriday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| May 1, 2026 | Friday | Buddha PurnimaFriday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| May 27, 2026 | Wednesday | Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid)Wednesday. Subject to moon sighting.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| June 26, 2026 | Friday | MuharramFriday. Subject to moon sighting.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| August 15, 2026 | Saturday | Independence DaySaturday. National holiday; no substitute weekday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| August 26, 2026 | Wednesday | Milad-un-Nabi (Prophet's Birthday)Wednesday. Subject to moon sighting.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| September 4, 2026 | Friday | Janmashtami (Vaishnava)Friday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| October 2, 2026 | Friday | Mahatma Gandhi JayantiFriday. National holiday — mandatory for all establishments.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| October 20, 2026 | Tuesday | Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami)Tuesday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| November 8, 2026 | Sunday | Diwali (Deepavali)Sunday (Kartika 17). Some states observe Naraka Chaturdasi instead.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| November 24, 2026 | Tuesday | Guru Nanak JayantiTuesday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
| December 25, 2026 | Friday | Christmas DayFriday.Public holiday | Public holiday |
The second tier: 34 restricted holidays
The 17 dates above are only half of the DoPT calendar. Annexure-II of the same Office Memorandum lists 34 further occasions as restricted holidays, and every central government employee may take any two of them. They are deliberately kept out of the table, the calendar grid and the downloadable files on this page: the office stays open on a restricted holiday, so they are leave you apply for rather than a day India is closed.
India long weekends in 2026
Republic Day
3 daysJan 24 – 26
Sat–Sun weekend plus Monday Republic Day. No leave needed.
Ram Navami
4 daysMar 26 – 29
Ram Navami on Thursday — take Friday Mar 27 off for a 4-day break.
Mahavir Jayanti & Good Friday
6 daysMar 31 – Apr 5
Tuesday and Friday holidays — take Apr 1 and Apr 2 off for 6 days.
Buddha Purnima
3 daysMay 1 – 3
Friday holiday plus the weekend. No leave needed.
Muharram
3 daysJun 26 – 28
Friday holiday plus the weekend — but the date can move on moon sighting.
Janmashtami
3 daysSep 4 – 6
Friday holiday plus the weekend. No leave needed.
Gandhi Jayanti
3 daysOct 2 – 4
Friday holiday plus the weekend. No leave needed.
Dussehra
4 daysOct 17 – 20
Dussehra on Tuesday — take Monday Oct 19 off for a 4-day break.
Guru Nanak Jayanti
4 daysNov 21 – 24
Holiday on Tuesday — take Monday Nov 23 off for a 4-day break.
Christmas
3 daysDec 25 – 27
Friday holiday plus the weekend. No leave needed.
Understanding India's holiday system
India operates a three-tier public holiday system. Three national holidays (Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti) are mandatory for every establishment, public or private. Gazetted holidays are the Annexure-I list published each year by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) — 17 days in 2026 for central government offices in Delhi and New Delhi, widely followed by banks, PSUs and many private employers. Restricted holidays sit in Annexure-II: employees choose any two of the 34 occasions listed for 2026, and the office stays open on those days.
The dates on this page come from DoPT Office Memorandum F.No.12/2/2023-JCA dated 3 July 2025. Central government offices outside Delhi observe 14 compulsory holidays from that list plus three chosen locally by the state Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committee from a 12-item optional list (Holi, Ram Navami, Maha Shivratri, Janmashtami, Onam, Pongal, Rath Yatra and others). That is why a central office in Chennai and one in Kolkata get the same number of days off but not the same days.
Two rules matter when a holiday lands awkwardly. First, no substitute day is granted when a gazetted holiday falls on a weekly off or when two festivals share a date — so Id-ul-Fitr (Sat Mar 21), Independence Day (Sat Aug 15) and Diwali (Sun Nov 8) simply pass without an extra day off in 2026. Second, the four Islamic dates may move by a day on moon sighting; the DoPT notification lets departments act on a P.I.B., radio or television announcement without waiting for a formal amendment.
State-level holidays
Each of India's 28 states and 8 union territories publishes its own holiday calendar on top of the central gazetted list. State governments add local festivals — Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Onam in Kerala, Bihu in Assam, Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra, Durga Puja in West Bengal and many more. A holiday that is mandatory in one state may be a normal working day elsewhere.
Diwali is the clearest example. The central gazette fixes it on Sunday, November 8, but the notification expressly allows a state's central offices to close on Naraka Chaturdasi — the day before — where that is the day the state government itself declares. If you work in or travel to a specific state, check that state's notification alongside this central list. Banks follow a mix of RBI guidance and state calendars, so branch closures can differ from the DoPT gazette.
Download & subscribe
Official sources & data
- DoPT — Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India (official website; the annual gazetted & restricted holiday O.M. for Central Government Offices is published here)Visit sourceDepartment of Personnel and Training, Government of India
- DoPT O.M. F.No.12/2/2023-JCA dated 03.07.2025 — Holidays in Central Government Offices during 2026 (Annexure-I & II)Visit sourceIndian Council of Agricultural Research (circulating the DoPT O.M.)
- List of Holidays 2026 — Gazetted and RestrictedVisit sourceIndian Statistical Institute, Delhi Centre
- Holidays to be observed in Central Government Offices during the year 2026 — full text of the O.M.Visit sourceGovt Staff
Frequently asked questions
How many gazetted holidays does India have in 2026?+
Seventeen. DoPT Office Memorandum F.No.12/2/2023-JCA dated 3 July 2025 lists 17 gazetted holidays in Annexure-I for central government offices in Delhi and New Delhi. Offices elsewhere observe 14 of those compulsorily plus three more chosen locally, so the total is still 17 — but the specific dates vary by state.
When is Diwali 2026 in India?+
Sunday, November 8, 2026 (Kartika 17). The DoPT notification states this explicitly. Because it falls on a weekly off, no substitute weekday is granted. Some states instead close on Naraka Chaturdasi, the day before, where that is the day the state government declares as its compulsory Diwali holiday.
Is Maha Shivaratri a gazetted holiday in India in 2026?+
No. In 2026 Maha Shivratri falls on Sunday, February 15 and appears on the Annexure-II restricted list, not the gazetted Annexure-I list — so central offices in Delhi stay open on the following working day and no automatic day off applies. It was gazetted in 2025 (Feb 26), which is a common source of confusion. It also sits on the 12-item optional list, so a state committee outside Delhi may pick it as one of that state's three variable holidays.
Are Islamic holidays fixed dates in the 2026 India calendar?+
No. Id-ul-Fitr (Sat Mar 21), Id-ul-Zuha or Bakrid (Wed May 27), Muharram (Fri Jun 26) and Milad-un-Nabi (Wed Aug 26) are printed in Annexure-I but remain subject to moon sighting. For Delhi offices any change is declared by the Ministry of Personnel after confirmation from the Delhi Police Special Branch; elsewhere the state coordination committee decides.
What are the best long weekends in India for 2026?+
Six of the ten need no leave at all: Republic Day (Jan 24–26), Buddha Purnima (May 1–3), Muharram (Jun 26–28), Janmashtami (Sep 4–6), Gandhi Jayanti (Oct 2–4) and Christmas (Dec 25–27). The best value comes from bridging: two days of leave on Apr 1 and Apr 2 chain Mahavir Jayanti and Good Friday into a six-day break from Mar 31 to Apr 5, and a single day each turns Ram Navami, Dussehra and Guru Nanak Jayanti into four-day breaks.
Is Independence Day 2026 a weekday holiday?+
No. Independence Day is Saturday, August 15, 2026. It remains one of the three mandatory national holidays, but the DoPT rule against substitute days means no weekday off is granted. Many private employers treat Saturday as a half or full working day, so actual time off varies.
What is the difference between gazetted and restricted holidays?+
A gazetted holiday closes the office — all 17 dates on this page are compulsory days off for central government employees in Delhi. A restricted holiday is a working day: each employee may pick any two of the 34 occasions on Annexure-II (Maha Shivratri, Makar Sankranti, Raksha Bandhan, Chhath Puja, Christmas Eve and others) and apply for them as leave.
When is Holi 2026 in India?+
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 for central offices in Delhi. It is a mid-week holiday with no automatic long weekend, though many people take adjacent leave. Outside Delhi, Holi is one of the 12 optional holidays, so whether it is a closed day depends on what the state coordination committee selected.
