Public holidays in India, 2026

How India public holidays work in 2026

India has only three national holidays declared by gazette of the Government of India: Republic Day on 26 January, Independence Day on 15 August and Mahatma Gandhi's birthday on 2 October. Every other holiday on Indian calendars is either a gazetted restricted holiday, a sectional holiday for specific communities, or a state holiday declared under section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 by the relevant state government. The Reserve Bank of India publishes a separate banking holiday list for each state, which is why bank cheques clear in Mumbai while branches in Kolkata are shut. State holidays vary widely: Tamil Nadu observes Pongal, Kerala observes Onam, neither of which applies elsewhere.

Working days in India

The standard private-sector working week in India is Monday to Saturday with Sunday off, although banking, IT and multinational sectors increasingly run Monday to Friday with first and third Saturdays off under the 2015 Reserve Bank of India direction. The Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 section 25 defines a working day for bill maturity as any day other than a public holiday so notified by the central or state government. Statutory leave under the Factories Act 1948 is one day of earned leave for every twenty days worked. Bank settlement follows the RBI's separate state-level holiday lists, which means clearing cycles differ across the country.