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India is only one among many destinations for sourcing and off-shoring, best known for its information technology services provided by such powerhouses such as TCS/Tata, Wipro, HCL, Infosys, and U.S. headquartered Cognizant. Dealing with India is easy because the entire country is one time zone. On the other, there are quite a few holidays which can vary by region. In the list below, "gazetted" holidays are mandatory. Additionally, individual employees can choose two "restricted" holidays a year, however, they must be observed on the intended day—for example, a holiday falling on a Sunday in a particular year can not be used to take off the following Monday.
Our experience with India and elsewhere is that recognition of their holidays when planning work is one of the easiest paths to garnering good will and fostering a closer partnership. We offer India only as an example—there is no substitute for getting to know your supplier beyond the contract.
Following are the "gazetted" and "restricted" holidays for 2018 in India. Government of India document available HERE PDF
GazettedMandatory Days Off
Date | Day | Holiday |
January 26 | Friday | Republic Day |
February 14 | Wednesday | Maha Shivratri *** |
March 02 | Friday | Holi *** |
March 29 | Thursday | Mahavir Jayanti |
March 30 | Friday | Good Friday |
April 30 | Monday | Buddha Purnima |
June 16 | Saturday | Idu'l Fitr * |
August 15 | Wednesday | Independence Day |
August 22 | Wednesday | Id-ul-Zuha(Bakrid) * |
September 3 | Monday | Janmashtami *** |
September 21 | Friday | Muharram * |
October 2 | Tuesday | Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday |
October 19 | Friday | Dussehra |
November 07 | Wednesday | Diwali (Deepavali) ** |
November 21 | Wednesday | Milad-Un-Nabi or Id-E-Milad (Birthday of Prophet Mohammad) * |
November 23 | Friday | Guru Nanak's Birthday |
December 25 | Tuesday | Christmas |
* | May be adjusted depending on sighting of the moon | |
** | May be observed a day in advance on "Naraka Chaturdasi Day" by choice of a State | |
*** | Three of the additional holidays may be declared as Gazetted in States other than Delhi: | |
![]() | An additional day for Dussehra | |
![]() | Holi | |
![]() | Janamashtami (Vaishnavi) | |
![]() | Ram Navami | |
![]() | Maha Shivratri | |
![]() | Ganesh Chaturthi / Vinayak Chaturthi | |
![]() | Makar Sankaranti | |
![]() | Rath Yatra | |
![]() | Onam | |
![]() | Pongal | |
![]() | Sri Panchami | Basanta Panchami | |
![]() | Vishu / Vaisakhi / Vaisakhadi / Bhag Bihu / Mashadi Ugadi / Chaitra Sakladi / Cheti Chand / Gudi Pada 1st Navratra / Nauraj / Chhath Pooja / Karva Chauth |
RestrictedEmployee-Selected Days Off, Two of the Following
Date | Day | Holiday |
January 1 | Monday | New Year's Day |
January 14 | Sunday | Makar Sankranti |
January 14 | Sunday | Pongal |
January 22 | Monday | Basant Panchami/ Sri Panchami |
January 31 | Wednesday | Guru Ravidas's Birthday |
February 10 | Saturday | Swami Dayananda Sarswati Jayanti |
February 19 | Monday | Shivaji Jayanti |
March 1 | Thursday | Holika Dahan / Dolyatra |
March 18 | Sunday | Chaitra Sukladi / Gudi Padava / Ugadi / Cheti Chand |
March 25 | Sunday | Ram Navami |
April 1 | Sunday | Easter Sunday |
April 01 | Sunday | Hazarat Ali' Birthday |
April 14 | Saturday | Vaisakhi/Vishu/Mesadi |
April 15 | Sunday | Vaisakhadi (Bengal) / Bahag Bihu (Assam) |
May 9 | Wednesday | Guru Rabindranath's Birthday |
June 15 | Friday | Jamat-Ul-Vida |
July 14 | Saturday | Rath Yatra |
August 17 | Friday | Parsi New Year's Day / Nauraj |
August 25 | Saturday | Onam or Thiru Onam Day |
August 26 | Sunday | Raksha Bandhan |
September 13 | Thursday | Vinayaka Chaturthi / Ganesh Chaturthi |
October 16 | Tuesday | Dussehra (Maha Saptami) (Additional) |
October 17 | Wednesday | Dussehra (Maha Ashtami) (Additional) |
October 18 | Thursday | Dussehra (Maha Navmi) |
October 24 | Wednesday | Maharishi Valmiki's Birthday |
October 27 | Saturday | Karaka Chaturthi (Karva Chouth) |
November 06 | Tuesday | Deepavali (South India) |
November 06 | Tuesday | Naraka Chaturdasi |
November 08 | Thursday | Govardhan Puja |
November 09 | Friday | Bhai Duj |
November 13 | Tuesday | Pratihar Sashthi or Surya Sashthi (Chhat Puja) |
November 24 | Saturday | Guru Teg Bahadur's Martyrdom Day |
December 24 | Monday | Christmas Eve |