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.
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.
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 2023 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.
What is a national holiday in India?
A national holiday is a day on which a country, whether sovereign or not, commemorates its independence, establishment, or other significant events.
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.
What is a restricted holiday?
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.
Difference between restricted and national 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.
List of restricted and national holidays in India 2023
Before framing holiday policies for companies, let’s take a look at this list of national and restricted holidays in India 2023.
January 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| New Year | 1 January, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Lohri | 13 January, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Makar Sakranti | 14 January, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Pongal | 15 January, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Republic Day/ Vasant Panchmi | 26 January, 2023 | National Holiday |
February 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Guru Ravidas Jayanti/Hazarat Ali's Birthday | 5 February, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati Jayanti | 15 February, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Maha Shivratri | 18 February, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti | 19 February, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
March 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Dolyatra/Holika Dahana | 7 Match, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Holi | 8 March, 2023 | Public Holiday |
| Ugadi(Gudi Padwa) - Hindu New Year | 22 March, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Ram Navami | 30 March, 2023 | Gazzeted Holiday |
April 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Mahavir Jayanti | 4 April, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Good Friday | 7 April, 2023 | Public Holiday |
| Ambedkar Jayanti/ Vaisakhi | 14 April, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Jamat-Ul-Vida | 21 April, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Ramzan/Eid-Ul-Fitar | 22 April, 2023 | Public Holiday |
May 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Buddha Purnima | 5 May, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Rabindranath Tagore's Birthday | 9 May, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
June 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Rath Yatra | 20 June, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Bakrid/Eid-Ul-Adha | 29 June, 2023 | Gazzeted Holiday |
July 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Muharram/Ashura | 29 July, 2023 | Gazzeted Holiday |
August 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Independance Day | 15 August, 2023 | National Holiday |
| Parsi New Year | 16 August, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Onam | 29 August, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Raksha Bandhan | 30 August, 2023 | Public Holiday |
September 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Krishna Janamashtami | 6 September, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Ganesh Chaturthi | 19 September, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Milad-Un-Nabi | 28 September, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
October 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Gandhi Jayanti | 2 October, 2023 | National Holiday |
| Maha Navmi | 23 October, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Dussehra | 24 October, 2023 | Public Holiday |
| Valmiki Jayanti | 28 October, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
November 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Karva Chauth | 1 November, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Dhan Teras | 10 November, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Diwali | 12 November, 2023 | Public Holiday |
| Govardhan Puja/Vishkarma Day | 13 November, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Bhai Dooj | 15 November, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Chhath Puja | 19 November, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Guru Teg Bahadur Jayanti | 24 November, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
| Guru Nanak Jayanti | 27 November, 2023 | Restricted Holiday |
December 2023
| Event/Occasion | Date | Holiday Type |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas | 25 December, 2023 | Gazetted Holiday |
Wrapping Up
So these are the restricted and national holidays in India 2023, which would give some extra time off to employees all around the country.
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.
FAQs on the list of national and restricted holidays in India 2023
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.
