India > Festivals > Holiday List 2019

Public Holidays and Festivals in India 2019

There are many festivals and special events in India, but only three of these are full national public holidays. These are-

01
Republic Day
January 26
Saturday
02
Independence Day
August 15
Thursday
03
Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday
October 02
Wednesday

Gazetted Holidays list of India, 2019

In India General Holidays, usually mean Government Holidays or Public Holidays or Compulsory holidays, are holidays that usually observed everywhere like banks, government sector, public sector or private sector, schools etc. There are 17 compulsory holiday including above three national holidays. These holidays are provided by the central Government of India and these are common for all states and union territories of the nation.

Central Government Holidays or Gazetted Holiday calendar 2019

Sl. No.
Date ( ,2019)
Day
Occasion
01
January 26
Saturday
Republic Day
02
April 17
Wednesday
Mahavir Jayanti
03
April 19
Friday
Good Friday
04
May 18
Saturday
Buddha Purnima
05
June 05
Wednesday
Ramazan / Idu’l Fitr
06
August 12
Monday
Id-ul-Zuha / Bakr Id
07
August 15
Thursday
Independence Day
08
September 10
Tuesday
Muharram
09
October 02
Wednesday
Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday
10
October 08
Tuesday
Dussehra
11
October 27
Sunday
Diwali (Deepavali)
12
November 10
Sunday
Milad-Un-Nabi or Id-E-Milad
(Birthday of Prophet Muhammad)
13
November 12
Tuesday
Guru Nanak Jayanti
14
December 25
Wednesday
Christmas Day

Source: https://www.india.gov.in/calendar/

All of the above 14 holidays are observed as the compulsory holidays for all central government employees throughout India. In addition, three (3) more holidays shall be decided from the list below (Additional Compulsory Holiday List 2019) by the Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committee of the concerned state. And the 17 compulsory holidays must be the same for all Central Government Offices for the concerned State.

Additional Compulsory Holiday List 2019

Sl. No.
Date ( ,2019)
Day
Occasion
Concerned State
01
January 14
Monday
Makar Sankranti
GJ, KA, SK & TG
02
January 15
Tuesday
Pongal
AP, AR, PY & TN
03
February 10
Sunday
Vasant Panchami/Sri Panchami
HR, OR, PB, TR & WB
04
March 04
Monday
Maha Shivaratri
National except AN, AR, AS, BR, DN, GA, LD, MP, MN, ML, MZ, NL, PY, SK, TN & WB
05
March 21
Thursday
Holi
National except for AP, AS, JK, KA, KL, LD, MN, PY, TN, UP, UK & WB
06
April 06
Saturday
Chaitra Sukladi/Gudi Padava
MH
07
April 06
Saturday
Ugadi
AP, GA, GJ, JK, KA, RJ & TG
08
April 06
Saturday
1st Navratri
JK
09
April 06
Saturday
Gudi Padwa
GJ, KA, SK & TG
10
April 07
Sunday
Cheti Chand
GJ
11
April 13
Saturday
Ram Navami
National except for AR, AS, DN, GA, JK, JH, KA, KL, LD, MN, ML, MZ, NL, PY, TN, TR & WB
12
April 14
Sunday
Vaisakhi/Vishu/Meshadi
AR, AS, HR, JK, OR, PB, TN, TR & WB
13
July 04
Thursday
Rath Yatra
OR
14
August 24
Saturday
Janmashtami
National except for AR, AS, CH, DN, GA, KA, KL, LD, MH, ML, MZ, PY & WB
15
September 02
Monday
Vinayaka Chaturthi/Ganesh Chaturthi
AP, DD, DN, GA, GJ, KA, MH, OR, PY, TG & TN
16
September 11
Wednesday
Onam or Thiru Onam Day
KL
17a
October 05
Saturday
An extra day for Dussehra (Maha Saptami)
OR, SK, TR & WB
17b
October 06
Sunday
An extra day for Dussehra (Maha Ashtami)
AP, JH, MN, OR, RJ, SK, TG, TR & WB
17c
October 07
Monday
An extra day for Dussehra (Maha Navami)
AS, BR, JH, KA, KL, ML, NL, OR, PY, SK, TN, TR, UP & WB
18
October 17
Thursday
Karaka Chaturthi (Karva Chouth)
--
19
November 02
Saturday
Chhath Puja
BR & JH

Source: https://www.india.gov.in/calendar/

Restricted Holiday Calendar of India, 2019

India is a country of 29 states and 7 union territories where a different type of religious followers (Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Jain and others) lives together with a vast cultural heritage. They celebrate different types of festivals and cultural activities throughout the years, and which are varies from state to state.

Except this 17 compulsory central holidays (Gazetted Holidays), a state or Union Territory can get 2 or 3 more (sometimes up to 6 to 9) additional holidays. Basically, these extra holidays depend on the importance and priority of a festival by the state people. These optional holiday lists are selected by the Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committee and this list is usually called as Restricted Holidays.

Restricted Holidays or Optional Holiday calendar for 2019

Sl. No.
Date ( ,2019)
Day
Occasion
01
January 01
Tuesday
New Year's Day
02
January 13
Sunday
Lohri
03
January 14
Monday
Makar Sankranti
04
January 15
Tuesday
Pongal
05
February 10
Sunday
Basant Panchami/Sri Panchami
06
February 19
Tuesday
Guru Ravidas's Birthday
07
February 19
Tuesday
Shivaji Jayanti
08
March 01
Thursday
Swami Dayananda Saraswati Jayanti
09
March 20
Wednesday
Holika Dahan
10
March 21
Thursday
Dol Yatra
11
March 21
Thursday
Hazarat Ali's Birthday
12
April 06
Saturday
Chaitra Sukladi/Gudi Padava/Ugadi/Cheti Chand
13
April 13
Saturday
Ram Navami
14
April 14
Sunday
Vaisakhi/Vishu/Meshadi
15
April 15
Monday
Pahela Vaisakh (Bengal)/Bahag Bihu (Assam)
16
April 21
Sunday
Easter Sunday
17
May 09
Thursday
Rabindra Jayanti
18
May 31
Friday
Jamat-Ul-Vida
19
July 04
Thursday
Rath Yatra
20
August 15
Thursday
Raksha Bandhan
21
August 17
Saturday
Parsi New Year's day/Nauraj
22
September 02
Monday
Vinayaka Chaturthi/Ganesh Chaturthi
24
September 11
Wednesday
Onam or Thiru Onam Day
25
October 05
Saturday
Maha Saptami (Dussehra)
26
October 06
Sunday
Maha Ashtami (Dussehra)
27
October 07
Monday
Maha Navami (Dussehra)
28
October 13
Sunday
Maharishi Valmiki's Birthday
29
October 17
Thursday
Karaka Chaturthi (Karva Chouth)
30
October 27
Sunday
Deepavali (South India) / Naraka Chaturdasi
31
October 28
Monday
Govardhan Puja
32
October 29
Tuesday
Bhai Duj
33
November 02
Saturday
Pratihar Sashthi / Surya Sashthi (Chhat Puja)
34
November 24
Sunday
Guru Teg Bahadur's Martyrdom Day
35
December 24
Tuesday
Christmas Eve

Source: https://www.india.gov.in/calendar/

In India Sunday declared as weekend holiday. If any above mention holiday coincides with Sunday then it will not be counted as an extra holiday.

All the above festivals are commonly used for central government, state government, and others sectors office holidays. In addition, there are numerous festivals, events, and fairs which are also observed in some states and localities as holidays, the dates of which change from year to year.

Time and Date mentioned on the above lists for Muslim festivals are based on the latest known dates and may vary according to the local sightings of the first-day moon.