India > Festivals > Holiday List 2020

Public Holidays and Festivals in India 2020

There are many festivals and special events in India, but only three of them are recognized as national holidays. The country celebrates Republic Day on 26 January, Independence Day on 15 August, and Gandhi Jayanti on 02 October every year as National Holiday.

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

Gazetted Holidays list of India, 2020

In India, General Holidays or Gazetted Holidays usually mean as Government Holidays or Public Holidays or Compulsory holidays. These holidays are usually observed everywhere like banks, government sectors, public sector and private sector, schools, etc in the country. There are 17 compulsory holidays including the 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 2020

Sl. No.
Date ( ,2020)
Day
Occasion
01
January 26
Sunday
Republic Day
02
April 06
Monday
Mahavir Jayanti
03
April 10
Friday
Good Friday
04
May 07
Thursday
Buddha Purnima
05
May 24
Sunday
Ramadan / Eid-al Fitr$
06
July 31
Friday
Id-ul-Zuha / Bakr-Id$
07
August 15
Saturday
Independence Day
08
August 30
Sunday
Muharram$
09
October 02
Friday
Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday
10
October 25
Sunday
Dussehra (Vijayadashami)
11
October 29
Thursday
Milad-Un-Nabi or Id-E-Milad$
(Birthday of Prophet Muhammad)
12
November 27
Saturday
Diwali (Deepavali)
13
November 30
Monday
Guru Nanak Jayanti
14
December 25
Friday
Christmas Day

$The date may be vary based on the lunar position.
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 2020) 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 2020

Sl. No.
Date ( ,2020)
Day
Occasion
Concerned State
01
January 15
Wednesday
Makar Sankranti
GJ, KA, SK & TG
02
January 15
Wednesday
Pongal
AP, AR, PY & TN
03
January 30
Thursday
Basant Panchami / Sri Panchami
HR, OR, PB, TR & WB
04
February 21
Friday
Maha Shivaratri
National except AN, AR, AS, BR, DN, GA, LD, MP, MN, ML, MZ, NL, PY, SK, TN & WB
05
March 10
Tuesday
Holi
National except for AP, AS, JK, KA, KL, LD, MN, PY, TN, UP, UK & WB
06
March 25
Wednesday
Chaitra Sukladi/Gudi Padava*
MH
07
March 25
Wednesday
Ugadi*
AP, GA, GJ, JK, KA, RJ & TG
08
March 25
Wednesday
1st Navratri*
JK
09
March 25
Wednesday
Gudi Padwa*
GJ, KA, SK & TG
10
March 26
Thursday
Cheti Chand*
UP
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 13
Monday
Vaisakhi/Vishu*
HR, JK, KL, OR, PB & TN
13
April 13
Monday
Mesadi/Vaisakhadi (Bengal)/Bahag Bihu (Assam) *
AR, AS, TR & WB
14
June 23
Tuesday
Rath Yatra
OR
15
August 12
Wednesday
Janmashtami (Vaishnavi)
National except for AR, AS, CH, DN, GA, KA, KL, LD, MH, ML, MZ, PY & WB
16
August 22
Saturday
Vinayaka Chaturthi/Ganesh Chaturthi
AP, DD, DN, GA, GJ, KA, MH, OR, PY, TG & TN
17
August 31
Monday
Onam or Thiru Onam Day
KL
18a
October 23
Friday
An extra day for Dussehra (Maha Saptami)
OR, SK, TR & WB
18b
October 24
Saturday
An extra day for Dussehra (Maha Ashtami)
AP, JH, MN, OR, RJ, SK, TG, TR & WB
18c
October 26
Monday
An extra day for Dussehra (Vijay Dashmi)
AS, BR, JH, KA, KL, ML, NL, OR, PY, SK, TN, TR, UP & WB
19
November 04
Wednesday
Karaka Chaturthi (Karva Chouth)*
--
20
November 20
Friday
Chhath Puja*
BR & JH

*Only one holiday supposed to decide on the concerned state.
Source: https://www.india.gov.in/calendar/

Restricted Holiday Calendar of India, 2020

India is a country of 28 states and 8 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 2020

Sl. No.
Date ( ,2020)
Day
Occasion
Concerned State
01
January 01
Wednesday
New Year's Day
AR, ML, MN, MZ, NL, RJ, SK & TN
02
January 02
Thursday
Guru Gobind Singh's Birthday
HR & RJ
03
January 13
Monday
Lohri
PB
04
January 15
Wednesday
Pongal
AP, AR, PY & TN
04
January 15
Wednesday
Makar Sankranti
GJ, KA, SK & TG
05
January 30
Thursday
Basant Panchami/Sri Panchami
HR, OR, PB, TR & WB
06
February 09
Sunday
Guru Ravidas Jayanti
CH, HP, HR & PB
07
February 18
Tuesday
Swami Dayananda Saraswati Jayanti
08
February 19
Wednesday
Shivaji Jayanti
MH
09
February 21
Friday
Maha Shivaratri
National except AN, AR, AS, BR, DN, GA, LD, MP, MN, ML, MZ, NL, PY, SK, TN & WB
10
March 09
Monday
Holika Dahan / Dol Yatra
11
March 09
Monday
Hazarat Ali's Birthday
UP
12
March 25
Wednesday
Gudi Padava
MH
12
March 25
Wednesday
Ugadi
AP, GA, GJ, JK, KA, RJ & TG
12
March 25
Wednesday
Chaitra Sukladi /Cheti Chand
13
April 02
Thursday
Ram Navami
AN, AP, BR, CG, DD, DL, GJ, HP, HR, MH, MP, OR, PB, RJ, SK, TG, UK & UP
14
April 12
Sunday
Easter Sunday
KL & NL
15
April 13
Monday
Vaisakhi/Vishu
HR, JK, KL & PB
16
April 14
Tuesday
Mesadi /Pahela Vaisakh (Bengal)/Bahag Bihu (Assam)
AR, AS, TR & WB
17
May 08
Friday
Rabindra Jayanti
TR & WB
18
May 22
Friday
Jamat-Ul-Vida
JK
19
June 23
Tuesday
Rath Yatra
OR
20
August 03
Monday
Raksha Bandhan
CG, DD, GJ, HR, MP, RJ, UK & UP
21
August 16
Sunday
Parsi New Year's day/Nauraj
GJ & MH
22
August 22
Saturday
Vinayaka Chaturthi/Ganesh Chaturthi
AP, DD, DN, GA, GJ, KA, MH, OR, PY, TG & TN
23
August 31
Monday
Onam or Thiru Onam Day
KL
24
October 23
Friday
Maha Saptami (Dussehra)
OR, SK, TR & WB
25
October 24
Saturday
Maha Ashtami (Dussehra)
AP, AR, JH, MN, OR, RJ, SK, TG, TR & WB
26
October 25
Saturday
Maha Navami (Dussehra)
AS, BR, JH, KA, KL, ML, NL, OR, PY, SK, TN, TR, UP & WB
27
October 26
Monday
Vijay Dashmi
National except MN & PY
27
October 31
Saturday
Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti
CH, HP, HR, KA, MP & PB
28
November 04
Wednesday
Karaka Chaturthi (Karva Chouth)
29
November 15
Sunday
Govardhan Puja
UP & UK
30
November 16
Monday
Bhai Duj
GJ, RJ, SK, UK & UP
31
November 20
Friday
Pratihar Sashthi / Surya Sashthi (Chhat Puja)
BR & JH
32
November 24
Tuesday
Guru Teg Bahadur's Martyrdom Day
PB
33
December 24
Thursday
Christmas Eve
ML & MZ

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

In India Sunday declared a 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 other 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.