Business
Central Government holiday list 2027: Key dates for business operations and employee leave
From long-weekend planning to leave calendars, the Centre’s 2027 holiday schedule offers a reference point for workforce planning, though private-sector holidays depend on applicable rules and company policies.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has issued the holiday schedule for 2027, outlining compulsory and restricted holidays for Central Government offices and rules for selecting additional holidays across states.
The Office Memorandum, dated 16 July 2026, specifies the holidays applicable to administrative offices in Delhi and New Delhi, alongside provisions for Central Government offices elsewhere. The schedule is relevant to workforce planning, employee leave calendars and operational arrangements, although private employers are not automatically covered by the same list.
Key holidays to mark in 2027
According to the DoPT memorandum, the following 17 holidays will be observed in Central Government administrative offices in Delhi and New Delhi:
26 January, Tuesday: Republic Day
10 March, Wednesday: Id-ul-Fitr
23 March, Tuesday: Holi
26 March, Friday: Good Friday
15 April, Thursday: Ram Navami
19 April, Monday: Mahavir Jayanti
17 May, Monday: Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid)
20 May, Thursday: Buddha Purnima
16 June, Wednesday: Muharram
15 August, Sunday: Independence Day and Milad-un-Nabi (Id-e-Milad)
25 August, Wednesday: Janmashtami (Vaishnav)
2 October, Saturday: Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday
9 October, Saturday: Dussehra (Vijaya Dashmi)
29 October, Friday: Diwali (Deepavali)
14 November, Sunday: Guru Nanak’s birthday
25 December, Saturday: Christmas Day
The dates and weekdays above are drawn from Annexure I of the DoPT memorandum. The document also notes that certain religious holiday dates may change depending on the sighting of the Moon.
How restricted holidays work
The memorandum allows employees in Central Government administrative offices in Delhi and New Delhi to choose two holidays from the restricted holiday list in addition to the prescribed holiday schedule.
The 2027 restricted holiday list includes several religious, regional and cultural occasions. Key dates include:
1 January, Friday: New Year’s Day
14 January, Thursday: Makar Sankranti and Magha Bihu
15 January, Friday: Pongal and Guru Gobind Singh’s birthday
11 February, Thursday: Sri Panchami and Basant Panchami
6 March, Saturday: Maha Shivratri
22 March, Monday: Holika Dahan and Dolyatra
28 March, Sunday: Easter Sunday
7 April, Wednesday: Chaitra Sukladi, Gudi Padava, Ugadi and Cheti Chand
14 April, Wednesday: Vaisakhi, Vishu and Meshadi
5 July, Monday: Rath Yatra
17 August, Tuesday: Raksha Bandhan
4 September, Saturday: Ganesh Chaturthi
12 September, Sunday: Onam
6 to 8 October: Dussehra-related occasions
18 October, Monday: Karwa Chauth
28 October, Thursday: Naraka Chaturdasi
30 October, Saturday: Govardhan Puja
31 October, Sunday: Bhai Duj
4 November, Thursday: Chhath Puja
24 December, Friday: Christmas Eve
The complete restricted holiday list contains 32 entries, including additional observances not included above. Employees should consult the applicable official list before finalising leave requests.
What Central Government offices outside Delhi need to know
The DoPT memorandum sets out a separate process for offices located outside Delhi and New Delhi. It identifies compulsory holidays and allows regional coordination committees to select additional holidays from a prescribed list.
The compulsory holidays specified for these offices include:
Republic Day
Independence Day
Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday
Buddha Purnima
Christmas Day
Diwali (Deepavali)
Good Friday
Guru Nanak’s birthday
Id-ul-Fitr
Id-ul-Zuha
Mahavir Jayanti
Muharram
Prophet Mohammad’s birthday (Id-e-Milad)
Three additional holidays are selected from a list of 12 optional occasions. State-level Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committees make the selections, with the final list applying uniformly to Central Government offices within the relevant state.
Implications for HR teams and business operations
The holiday memorandum provides a framework for Central Government offices to prepare their annual leave calendars and plan staffing requirements. HR teams can use the dates to coordinate leave requests, attendance arrangements and employee communication.
However, the memorandum distinguishes between different categories of establishments. Central Government industrial, commercial and trading organisations may observe up to 16 holidays annually, including Republic Day, Independence Day and Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday as compulsory holidays. These organisations can determine the remaining holidays for 2027, subject to the memorandum’s provisions.
Banks follow the applicable instructions issued by the Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance. Union Territory administrations determine their holiday lists under instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Important dates may require confirmation
The memorandum allows changes to the dates of Id-ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Zuha, Muharram and Id-e-Milad when required by Moon sighting. For offices outside Delhi and New Delhi, the relevant coordination committees may revise these dates based on decisions by the concerned state governments or Union Territory administrations.
The document also provides flexibility for Diwali observance in states where Naraka Chaturdasi is the sole compulsory Diwali holiday under the state government’s calendar. In such cases, Central Government offices may observe the holiday on Naraka Chaturdasi instead of Deepavali day.
For HR and operations teams, the next step is to align internal calendars with the applicable government notification, confirm regional holiday selections and communicate any subsequent changes to employees. Private-sector organisations should check their own state-specific rules and company policies before adopting the Central Government calendar.
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