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Public Holidays and Bank Holidays for India

The list of India bank holidays, national holidays and public holidays for 2009, comes from the Q++ Worldwide Public Holidays Database, the professional source of international public holidays long trusted by the world's foremost diary publishers. The information on this page is provided for private, non-professional, use. Qualified professionals can license data for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and beyond. For details, please visit our licensing information page or

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06 Nov 2009 (Bharat Sandesh-Shimla) The government of India's State of Himachal Pradesh had declared Saturday, November 7, 2009, as a gazetted public holiday in the areas of 3-Rohroo and 36-Jawali Vidhan Sabha Constituencies on account of by-elections that will be held in these Assembly Constituencies on that date. • 04 Nov 2009 (Indian Express-New Delhi) The Lieutenant-Governor of India's Delhi Capital State, Tejendra Khanna, has approved a full state public holiday for Thursday, October 14, 2010, on the occasion of the Closing Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. • 03 Nov 2009 (United News of India-Lucknow) The government of India's State of Uttar Pradesh (UP) has declared a regional public holiday on Saturday, November 7, 2009, in view of the by-elections to 11 assembly and one Lok Sabha seats. • 31 Oct 2009 (Deccan Chronicle-Hyderabad) The state government of India's State of Andhra Pradesh released the official list of Andhra Pradesh State public holidays for the year 2010. • 31 Oct 2009 (Haryana Live-Bahadurgarh) India's Haryana State Government has announced a one-off regional public holiday on Friday, November 13, 2009, in Bahadurgarh, Kaithal on account of that date's Municipal Council elections. • 19 Oct 2009 (Government of Tamil Nadu-Chennai) The Government of the Indian State of Tamil Nadu has published the official list of 2010 public holidays in the State of Tamil Nadu. • 05 Oct 2009 (United News of India-Chandigarh) A few Indian states have begun to declare a public holiday for Tuesday, October 13, 2009, to coincide with the upcoming Assembly elections. • 30 Sep 2009 (Punjab Newsline-Chandigarh) The government of India's State of Haryana has declared a public holiday on Wednesday, September 30, 2009, in all the State Government offices including those of Boards, Corporations and Educational Institutions following this morning's death of Rao Birender Singh, the former Chief Minister of Haryana. • 03 Sep 2009 (The Hindu-Chandigarh) The governments of the States of Haryana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, have declared a public holiday for tomorrow, Friday, September 4, 2009, as a mark of respect to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy who died in a helicopter crash yesterday. • 27 Aug 2009 (Punjab Newsline-Chandigarh) The Government of India's State of Punjab has declared Friday, August 28, 2009, as gazetted public holiday for the birth anniversary of Baba Sri Chand Ji, instead of Wednesday, September 9, 2009, as had been announced earlier. • 16 Aug 2009 (Press Trust of India-PTI) Earlier today, the Government of India's State of Haryana declared a one-off State public holiday for tomorrow, Monday, August 18, 2009, following the death of the State's Cabinet Minister, Kartar Devi. • 12 Aug 2009 (National Australia Bank-NAB) The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) will be open for trading on Wednesday, August 19, 2009, despite the State bank and public holiday of Parsi New Year (Shahenshahi). • 05 Aug 2009 (The Hindu-Bangalore) The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), which represents more than 750.000 workers and officers in the Indian banking industry, has confirmed that it would proceed with a strike on Thursday and Friday, August 6 and 7, 2009. • 28 Jul 2009 (The Times of India-New Delhi) The Chairperson of the India's Organising Committee (OC) for the Commonwealth Games 2010, Suresh Kalmadi, has announced that it had been decided that the day of the closing ceremony of the games would be declared a public holiday. • 14 Jul 2009 (WebIndia-UNI) India's State government of Himachal Pradesh has declared Friday, August 14, 2009, as an additional gazetted public holiday on account of this year's Janamashtami. • 13 Jun 2009 (The Times of India-New Delhi) The Ministry of Personnel, Government of India, has announced the list of public sector holidays to be observed in Central Government Offices during the year 2010. • 09 Jun 2009 (Punjab Newsline-Chandigarh) The Government of India's State of Punjab has declared Friday, June 12, 2009, as a paid public holiday in the Nurmahal Assembly Constituency to enable the voters to cast their votes. • 12 May 2009 (Punjab Newsline-Chandigarh) The Chief Electoral Officer of India's State of Punjab, Kusumjit Sidhu, has announced that Wednesday, May 13, 2009, would be a state public holiday "for the voters of the nine Parliamentary Constituencies of the state to go out in full strength". • 29 Apr 2009 (Chennai Online News-Chennai) The Administration of India's State of Puducherry has declared Wednesday, May 13, 2009, as a one-off electoral public holiday for all its offices and undertakings on the occasion of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. • 24 Apr 2009 (My Himachal-Shimla) The Chief Electoral Officer of India's State of Himachal Pradesh, Anil Khachi, has announced that Wednesday, May 13, 2009, had been declared as a gazetted public holiday to ensure maximum number of vote casting in the upcoming 15th Lok Sabha Elections. • 20 Apr 2009 (The Hindu-Chennai) Various Indian states are beginning to declare one-off public holidays to coincide with the day on which the current, month-long, national elections will be held in their state. • 15 Apr 2009 (Reserve Bank of India-New Delhi) India's stock markets have announced that they would close on Thursday, April 30, 2009, due to the elections on that day. In addition, all financial institutions, including the central bank, will be closed on that date. • 11 Apr 2009 (Merinews-Gurgaon) India's State government of J&K (Jammu and Kashmir) has declared that all polling days for the coming Lok Sabha elections would be public holidays on the dates and in the concerned districts. • 06 Apr 2009 (Kerala Online News-New Delhi) The government of India's State of Puducherry has declared today, Monday, April 6, 2009, a public holiday for all state government offices, on account of the death, this morning, of Puducherry’s Lieutenant Governor, Govind Singh Gurjar. • 24 Mar 2009 (Merinews-Gurgaon) The government of India's state of Jammu and Kashmir has declared all upcoming Lok Sabha elections polling days as public holidays in their respective districts. • 06 Jan 2009 (Kerala Online-Thiruvananthapuram) The government of the Indian state of Kerala has announced that it was moving the date of the upcoming Muharram public holiday from January 8, as it had earlier announced, to Wednesday, January 7, 2009. • 04 Jan 2009 (ThaiIndian News-Agartala) The Tripura State government has declared a public holiday for tomorrow, Monday, January 5, 2009, as a mark of respect for the death of 2 prominent Tripura leaders. • 08 Dec 2008 (Chandigarh Administration-Mera Chandigarh) The Chandigarh Administration has issued the schedule of holidays which will be observed as public holidays and restricted holidays in all Government Offices under the Chandigarh Administration, during the calendar year 2009. • 31 Oct 2008 (Times of India-Bangalore) The government of the India state of Karnataka (which includes Bangalore) has directed all establishments, public and private, in Karnataka to henceforth declare a holiday annually on November 1st, on the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava. • More News Updates For the full version of the summarized news items above, and older news items not displayed above, go to the India public holidays news and updates page, or worldwide public holidays news and updates page, or subscribe to one of our free email newsletters.

Full national public holidays: There are many festivals and special events in India, but only three of these are full national public holidays. They are Republic Day on January 26, Independence Day on August 15, and Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday on October 2. • In India General Holidays usually mean Government Holidays, and Public Holidays or Gazetted or Compulsory holidays are holidays that are usually observed by everyone in the area, banks, government, and schools included. • Other than the first three national public holidays, all others are either regional or religious holidays and not recognized as national public holidays. In some areas workers have the option of choosing from a list of possible public holidays. In most areas, depending on the industry or company, employees may choose at least 2 other holidays (and sometimes up to 6 or 9) from a list that is usually referred to as Restricted Holidays. • Indian States and Territories: There are 28 Indian States and 7 Union Territories (denoted by an asterisk). Their 2-letter codes are: •AN* Andaman/Nicobar, •AP Andhra Pradesh, •AR Arunachal Pradesh, •AS Assam, •BR Bihar, •CG Chattisgarh, •CH* Chandigarh, •DD* Daman/Diu, •DL* Delhi, •DN* Dadra and Nagar Haveli, •GA Goa, •GJ Gujarat, •HP Himachal Pradesh, •HR Haryana, •JH Jharkhand, •JK Jammu/Kashmir, •KA Karnataka, •KL Kerala, •LD* Lakshadweep, •MH Maharashtra, •ML Meghalaya, •MN Manipur, •MP Madhya Pradesh, •MZ Mizoram, •NL Nagaland, •OR Orissa, •PB Punjab, •PY* Puducherry, •RJ Rajasthan, •SK Sikkim, •TN Tamil Nadu, •TR Tripura, •UK Uttarakhand (formerly UA-Uttaranchal), •UP Uttar Pradesh, •WB West Bengal. • Bank Holidays: Banks are not governed by the list of gazette holidays put out by the Centre every year, but instead have to depend on state governments, which have powers under the Negotiable Instruments Act to declare local holidays based on festivals and important regional events. • Regional and Restricted Holidays: In addition to the above three national public holidays, the other ones that tend to be observed by most, among the ones listed, are (note that Jayanti means birthday): Islamic New Year (Muharram), Maha Shivaratri, Ram Navami, Mahavir Jayanti, Milad un Nabi (The Prophet's Birthday), Good Friday, Buddha Purnima (Buddha Day), Janmashtami, Ramazan (End of Ramadan), Guru Nanak Jayanti, Bakrid (Feast of Sacrifice), andChristmas Day. • There are currently 17 compulsory public holidays; five are Muslim celebrations, five Hindu, two Christian and one each is Buddhist, Jain and Sikh. In addition, there is a list of around 35 festivals (the number varies from state to state), • As an historical aside, in 1924, there were 18 public holidays in India, of which Diwali, Easter and Christmas were allotted three days each, and the New Year holiday spanned the last day of the present year as well as the first day of the coming year. The list contained only one Muslim celebration (although Pakistan and Bangladesh were part of India at the time), in contrast to seven Hindu ones, including Mahashivaratri, Holi, Coconut Day, and Ganesh Chaturthi. Two days in the year were also dedicated to the celebration of empire: Empire Day in May and the King’s Birthday in June. • Some holidays are celebrated a day earlier in some areas. This happens usually more in the south but isn't limited to that area. • For example, Diwali (or Deepevali, as it is more likely to be called in Southern India and overseas communities that hail from Southern India) is often celebrated on a different day in the south and in southern expatriates . • Despite the great number of public holidays, the work ethic in India is such that business meetings may be scheduled during a holiday if needed. • India International Codes IN and IND (2 and 3-letter ISO3166 codes) and .in (ICANN national top-level internet domain). • Other Sources of Information The following specialized websites are also a good source of India information and news: Reserve Bank of India (India central bank), ASI Hot Spots (security-related world events: terrorist threats, political strife, strikes, criminal activity, aviation incidents and health outbreaks), CIA World Factbook (India maps, demographics and economic statistics), the IFES (information covering upcoming elections, referenda, electoral structures and voter participation in India), and Wikipedia (includes India commemorative dates that are not necessarily public holidays).

Observance : Any entry in the Observance column indicates that, in India, the holiday may be regional or non-official or limited to certain religious and/or linguistic groups, or begin at a time other than midnight. Note that religious holidays are included only if they are national public holidays, or if the national labour code has specific holiday allowances for employees of specific religions. For more information, see our pages on the religious calendars of the world. Aft=Afternoon, Arm=Armenian, Bah=Bahai, Bnk=Banks and most financial institutions, Bud=Buddhist, Cat=Catholic, Chr=Christian, Cop=Coptic, Eve=Evening, Gov=Government services and civil servants, Hin=Hindu, Jew=Jewish, Lin=Linguistic or ethnic groups, Mor=Morning, Mun=Municipal, Mus=Muslim, Orth=Orthodox, Othr=Miscellaneous partial observances (usually described in the Additional Information section of this page), Prt=Protestant, Reg=Regional, Rel=Other Religion, Sch=Schools and universities, Sik=Sikh.

Religious Holidays : Public holidays in India that are based on certain religious calendars may be subject to local variations due to differing interpretations between different religious authorities, or to seemingly arbitrary changes in the date a holiday is celebrated because it conflicts with another holiday that is based on another calendar, or because the day of the holiday is deemed inauspicious (bad luck). To find out more about these uncertainties, see the footnote below, if any, for each specific religion.

Muslim Holidays : Muslim bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays, for India, were calculated using a mathematical model that is based on Sufist lunar visibility criteria. For Salat (prayer times) calculations, see our Freeware page.

Hindu Holidays : For India, when calculating the date of bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays based on the Hindu Lunar calendar, if the date is expunged (ie. does not occur), then we use the following existing date of the Hindu Lunar calendar. Local practice concerning expunged days may vary regionally. For more details on the evaluation of Hindu holidays, see Hindu Calendar holidays.

Solar Holidays : The calculation of moon phases, moonrises, moonsets, equinoxes, solstices, sunrises, and sunsets used to predict solar bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays for India are based on the geographical location of New Delhi (latitude 28,6°N, longitude 77,2°E, GMT+5,5 hours, no summer time rules). Note that many countries in South-East Asia are progressively changing the recurrence rule of some of their lunar/solar holidays to rules based on fixed dates of the Western (Gregorian) calendar. Therefore, while the dates predicted above for 2010 and beyond are currently technically correct, the rules of these holidays may change in the next few years. For more details on lunar and solar holidays, see the Lunisolar Footnotes.

Disclaimer
In many parts of the world, holidays are subject to arbitrary, last minute, changes by local authorities. While every effort has been made to present an accurate list of 2009 bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays for India, we cannot accept any responsibility for any error or omission in the data presented above. You are therefore advised to verify the above dates with the embassy or consulate of India, before planning any trip to India. For last-minute updates to worldwide public holidays, visit our blog or subscribe to our free email newsletters.