The majority of private companies and then government offices provide a specific number of earned & sick leaves to their employees. However, employees always look forward to other national & restricted holidays coming up on the calendar. Why? Because who doesn’t appreciate some extra time off from work and other stressful duties to enjoy a little personal time in life.Â
India is a land of culture and diversity and we love to celebrate occasions and festivals big time. Therefore, we as a country are blessed with festivals of different types, each having its own significance and importance. We have diverse festivals for different seasons of the year and then a diverse number of holidays for those festivals. Also, these festive day-offs are different from national holidays, as national holidays are mandatory offs. Therefore, this makes it a complex task for HR professionals to plan the holiday calendar for their employees.Â
It is part of the HR’s duty to make yearly holiday policies for companies at the start of a financial year. Therefore, while setting these holiday policies for companies, referring to the respective year’s holiday calendar released by the government is imperative. HR professionals can check the list of national holidays in India 2024 and plan the leave policies well in advance. Besides central government-gazetted holidays, you may also check the compulsory holidays for private companies in India before releasing the leave policy on your HR software portal.
Moreover, let’s talk about the difference between national and restricted holidays.
A national holiday is a day on which a country, whether sovereign or not, commemorates its independence, establishment, or other significant events.Â
There are three national holidays in India. Therefore, annually, the country commemorates Republic Day on January 26th, Independence Day on August 15th, and Gandhi Jayanti on October 2nd.
All national holidays are compulsory holidays for private companies in India.
A restricted holiday is one that is discretionary, and it is up to the employee to decide whether or not to take leave on that specific day.
Restricted holidays are also called ‘Optional Holidays’ and are not compulsory holidays for private companies in India. In general, holiday policies for companies may include a number of restricted holidays. However, employees are only permitted to choose from a list of optional holidays (with a maximum limit).
For instance, Sri Ram Navami, Eid, Chhath Puja, etc., are religious festivals of diverse religions, and not every individual celebrates these. So it’s up to the employees to take time off during these specific holidays.
The key difference between restricted and national holidays is that national holidays are compulsory holidays for private companies in India (or any other office) whereas, restricted holidays are at the discretion of the employee and whether they want to use them or not is up to them.
Before framing holiday policies for companies, let’s take a look at this list of national and restricted holidays in India 2024.
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| New Year | 1 January, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Lohri | 13 January, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Makar Sakranti | 14 January, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Pongal | 15 January, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Hazarat Ali's Birthday | 25 January, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Republic Day | 26 January, 2024 | National Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Vasant Panchmi | 14 February, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti | 19 February, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Guru Ravidas Jayanti | 24 February, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Swami Dayananda Saraswati Jayant | 6 Match, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Maha Shivratri | 8 March, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Holika Dahan | 24 March, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Holi | 25 March, 2024 | Public Holiday |
| Good Friday | 29 March, 2024 | Public Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jamat-Ul-Vida | 5 April, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Chaitra Suladi/ Ugadi(Gudi Padwa) | 9 April, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Eid-Ul-Fitar | 11 April, 2024 | Public Holiday |
| Vaisakhi | 13 April, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Ram Navami | 17 April, 2024 | Gazzeted Holiday |
| Mahavir Jayanti | 21 April, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Rabindranath Tagore's Birthday | 7 May, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Buddha Purnima | 23 May, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Bakrid/Eid-Ul-Adha | 17 June, 2024 | Gazzeted Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Rath Yatra | 7 July, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Muharram | 17 July, 2024 | Gazzeted Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Independance Day | 15 August, 2024 | National Holiday |
| Raksha Bandhan | 19 August, 2024 | Public Holiday |
| Krishna Janamashtami | 26 August, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Ganesh Chaturthi, | 7 September, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Onam | 15 September, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Milad-Un-Nabi | 16 September, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Gandhi Jayanti | 2 October, 2024 | National Holiday |
| Dussehra | 12 October, 2024 | Public Holiday |
| Karva Chauth | 20 October, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Diwali | 31 October, 2024 | Public Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Govardhan Puja | 2 November, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Bhai Dooj | 3 November, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Chhath Puja | 7 November, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Guru Nanak Jayanti | 15 November, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Guru Teg Bahadur Jayanti | 24 November, 2024 | Restricted Holiday |
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas | 25 December, 2024 | Gazetted Holiday |
So these are the restricted and national holidays in India 2024, which would give some extra time off to employees all around the country.Â
Festivals are meant to be celebrated together and just imagine how pointless it will be to not able to attend these celebrations. This is why every organization must try to implement these leaves in their holiday calendar and put a smile on their employees’ faces.Â
There are 3 national holidays that are observed in every part of the country. These holidays are Republic Day on the 26th of January, Independence Day on the 15th of August, and Gandhi Jayanti on the 2nd of October.
No, the public or government holidays differ from state to state. There might be some common holidays, but there are some holidays that are specific to the culture and history of each state.
No, you can’t, until you are currently residing in that state.
Yes, there are several states which allow their employees to enjoy New Year by making it a public holiday.
Yes, the above restricted and public holidays list is applicable for all the industries including IT/Tech, Manufacturing, Logistics, Healthcare, Software, Mining, Aviation, Hospitality, BFSI, and more.
It totally depends upon the entity location and diversity. You can keep the holiday optional for few employees or permanent holiday for the native festivals.
