Government Holidays 2026 (Central Government Gazetted List)
These are the government holidays 2026 for Central Government offices in Delhi and New Delhi, as notified by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). There are 18 gazetted holidays in 2026; 1 of them fall on a Sunday, and 7 fall on a Monday or Friday, giving a long weekend for offices that work five days a week.
Central Government offices outside Delhi follow 14 compulsory holidays plus three chosen in each state capital, so their list can differ slightly. Restricted holidays are optional: employees choose two of them.
- 18gazetted holidays
- 34restricted holidays
- 1fall on a Sunday
- 7long weekends (Mon or Fri)
Gazetted holidays 2026 (central government)
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Jan | Mon | Republic Day |
| 4 Mar | Wed | Holi |
| 21 Mar | Sat | Id-ul-Fitr |
| 26 Mar | Thu | Ram Navami |
| 31 Mar | Tue | Mahavir Jayanti |
| 3 Apr | Fri | Good Friday |
| 14 Apr | Tue | Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's Birthday Added by DoPT order F.No. 12/4/2020-JCA dated 09.04.2026, for all central government offices. |
| 1 May | Fri | Budha Purnima |
| 28 May | Thu | Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) Moved from 27 May by DoPT OM F.No. 12/3/2023-JCA dated 22.05.2026. |
| 26 Jun | Fri | Muharram |
| 15 Aug | Sat | Independence Day |
| 26 Aug | Wed | Milad-un-Nabi or Id-e-Milad (Birthday of Prophet Mohammad) |
| 4 Sep | Fri | Janmashtami (Vaishnava) |
| 2 Oct | Fri | Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday |
| 20 Oct | Tue | Dussehra |
| 8 Nov | Sun | Diwali (Deepavali) |
| 24 Nov | Tue | Guru Nanak's Birthday |
| 25 Dec | Fri | Christmas Day |
2026 calendar with holidays
- Gazetted holiday
- Restricted holiday
- Sunday
January 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
February 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
March 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
April 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
May 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 |
June 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 |
July 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
August 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
September 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
October 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
November 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
December 2026
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Restricted holidays 2026
Restricted (optional) holidays: central employees may pick any two. Full details: restricted holidays 2026.
| Date | Day | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan | Thu | New Year's Day |
| 3 Jan | Sat | Hazarat Ali's Birthday |
| 14 Jan | Wed | Makar Sankranti |
| 14 Jan | Wed | Magha Bihu / Pongal |
| 23 Jan | Fri | Sri Panchami, Basant Panchami |
| 1 Feb | Sun | Guru Ravi Das's Birthday |
| 12 Feb | Thu | Birthday of Swami Dayananda Saraswati |
| 15 Feb | Sun | Maha Shivratri |
| 19 Feb | Thu | Shiva Ji Jayanti |
| 3 Mar | Tue | Holika Dahan |
| 3 Mar | Tue | Dolyatra |
| 19 Mar | Thu | Chaitra Sukladi / Gudi Padava / Ugadi / Cheti Chand |
| 20 Mar | Fri | Jamat-Ul-Vida |
| 5 Apr | Sun | Easter Sunday |
| 14 Apr | Tue | Vaisakhi / Vishu / Meshadi (Tamil New Year's Day) |
| 15 Apr | Wed | Vaisakhadi (Bengal) / Bahag Bihu (Assam) |
| 9 May | Sat | Birthday of Guru Rabindranath Tagore |
| 16 Jul | Thu | Rath Yatra |
| 15 Aug | Sat | Parsi New Year's Day / Nauraj |
| 26 Aug | Wed | Onam or Thiru Onam Day |
| 28 Aug | Fri | Raksha Bandhan |
| 14 Sep | Mon | Ganesh Chaturthi / Vinayak Chaturthi |
| 18 Oct | Sun | Dussehra (Saptami) |
| 19 Oct | Mon | Dussehra (Mahashtami) |
| 20 Oct | Tue | Dussehra (Mahanavmi) |
| 26 Oct | Mon | Maharishi Valmiki's Birthday |
| 29 Oct | Thu | Karaka Chaturthi (Karwa Chouth) |
| 8 Nov | Sun | Naraka Chaturdasi |
| 9 Nov | Mon | Govardhan Puja |
| 11 Nov | Wed | Bhai Duj |
| 15 Nov | Sun | Pratihar Shashthi or Surya Shashthi (Chhat Puja) |
| 24 Nov | Tue | Guru Teg Bahadur's Martyrdom Day |
| 23 Dec | Wed | Hazarat Ali's Birthday |
| 24 Dec | Thu | Christmas Eve |
Offices outside Delhi
Applies to Central Government administrative offices in Delhi/New Delhi only. For offices outside Delhi/New Delhi the OM says (para 2): "Central Government Administrative Offices located outside Delhi / New Delhi shall observe the following holidays compulsorily in addition to three holidays, to be chosen out of the 12 optional holidays indicated below at para 3.1". The 14 compulsory holidays are: Republic Day, Independence Day, Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday, Buddha Purnima, Christmas Day, Dussehra (Vijaya Dashmi), Diwali (Deepavali), Good Friday, Guru Nanak's Birthday, Idu'l Fitr, Idu'l Zuha, Mahavir Jayanti, Muharram, Prophet Mohammad's Birthday (Id-e-Milad). Para 3.1: "for the offices located outside Delhi/New Delhi three holidays are to be chosen by the Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committee in the State Capitals, if necessary, in consultation with Coordination Committees at other places in the State, from the list indicated below." The 12 optional holidays are: an additional day for Dussehra, Holi, Janamashtami (Vaishnav), Ram Navami, Maha Shivratri, Ganesh Chaturthi/Vinayak Chaturthi, Makar Sankranti, Rath Yatra, Onam, Pongal, Sri Panchami/Basant Panchami, and a 12th item that groups regional new-year and festival days (from Vishu through Karva Chauth; see the OM for the exact names). Para 3.1 continues: "The final list, applicable uniformly to all Central Government offices within the concerned State, shall be notified accordingly and no change can be carried out thereafter." Dates of Id-ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Zuha, Muharram and Id-e-Milad are subject to change with moon sighting; any change is declared by DoPT (para 5.1) after ascertaining from the Government of NCT of Delhi, and may be announced at short notice through PIB, TV, AIR or newspapers (para 5.3). Diwali falls on Sunday 8 November 2026; per para 6, where a State observes Naraka Chaturdasi (a day earlier) as its compulsory Diwali holiday, central offices there may follow that date. No substitute holiday is given when a holiday falls on a weekly off. Independence Day (Sat 15 Aug), Id-ul-Fitr (Sat 21 Mar) and Diwali (Sun 8 Nov) fall on weekends.
Other holiday lists
Common questions
How many government holidays are there in 2026?
18 gazetted holidays for Central Government offices in Delhi and New Delhi, plus 34 restricted holidays from which employees choose two.
What are the national holidays in India?
Only three days are national holidays observed everywhere: Republic Day (26 January), Independence Day (15 August) and Gandhi Jayanti (2 October). Other holidays depend on the office, state or bank.
Is Republic Day a gazetted holiday in 2026?
Yes. Republic Day is on Mon 26 January 2026 in the central list.
Can a gazetted holiday date change?
Yes. Dates of Id and Muharram depend on moon sighting, and the government can move them by a later order. Check with your office close to the date.