India National Holidays

The Government of India shares annual circulars for every state to list the holidays. These published holidays from the list are applicable for government offices. These attached notifications are not binding on private sector employees, except for 3 national holidays. Across India, three are mandatory national holidays i.e. January 26 (Repubic Day), August 15 (Independence Day) and October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti). 

Each state has its own version of the Shops and Establishments Act. These Acts require private employers to grant minimum number of paid holidays. Many states require observing 8-14 holidays annually, including the national ones. The exact number and which holidays are up to the employer. 

Private organisations refer to the State Government holiday notification as a baseline. Choose a mix of:

1.       Mandatory national holidays

2.       Religious/cultural holidays in the region

3.       Optional holidays

It is good practice for employers to publish an approved internal holiday calendar for the year.

For example, even though Good Friday (April 18, 2025) was a gazetted (government) holiday in Karnataka/Delhi, a private company may or may not have observed it - unless it chose to include it in its own list. 

Comments

Clients should provide a list of the national holiday observances. If in doubt please refer to the Account Manager for details