India has more public holidays than most Western jurisdictions, and they're distributed unevenly across the calendar — a cluster around October-November (Diwali / festive season), another in spring (Holi). For a foreign employer, the right approach is to honour the statutory minimum, add a handful of festival floaters, and let the calendar feel intentional rather than imposed.
The statutory minimum
There is no single national statute mandating a fixed list of holidays. Holiday obligations come from a combination of:
- Three National Holidays (mandatory across India) — Republic Day (26 Jan), Independence Day (15 Aug), Gandhi Jayanti (2 Oct). Most states declare these as paid 'National & Festival Holidays'.
- State-level lists under the Shops & Establishments Act of each state — typically 10-14 additional days, including major regional festivals.
- Negotiable agreements with employees — many employers add 3-5 'floating' holidays the employee can use for festivals or cultural events of their choice.
Common foreign-employer practice: 10-12 fixed public holidays + 2-3 floating festival days, totalling 12-15 paid holidays per year. Below 10 starts to look stingy to Indian senior engineers; above 18 is unusual.
The 2026 Indian public holiday calendar
| Date | Holiday | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan | New Year's Day | All India (most states) |
| 14 Jan | Pongal / Makar Sankranti | South + most of India |
| 26 Jan | Republic Day | All India |
| 4 Mar | Holi | North + most of India |
| 14 Apr | Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Jayanti | All India |
| 1 May | Labour Day | All India |
| 15 Aug | Independence Day | All India |
| 26 Aug | Janmashtami | Most of India |
| 2 Oct | Gandhi Jayanti | All India |
| 21 Oct | Diwali | All India |
| 25 Dec | Christmas Day | All India |
Regional variations — what changes city by city
- Bengaluru / Karnataka — Ugadi (Kannada New Year), Karnataka Rajyotsava (1 Nov, state foundation day).
- Hyderabad / Telangana — Bathukamma (regional festival), Bonalu, Eid al-Fitr.
- Chennai / Tamil Nadu — Pongal (4 days), Tamil New Year, Onam in some sectors.
- Mumbai / Maharashtra — Ganesh Chaturthi (10 days, but typically 1-2 days off), Gudi Padwa.
- Kolkata / West Bengal — Durga Puja (5-7 days, the largest regional festival), Poila Boishakh.
- Kochi / Kerala — Onam (10 days, 2-3 days typically observed), Vishu.
Your holiday calendar, configured by your consultant
FastLegal's payroll consultant configures your holiday calendar per branch / location, ensuring statutory compliance with each state's Shops Act, plus 2-3 floating days the employee can use. The calendar surfaces in the employee portal so engineers know exactly when they're off. We update the calendar each November for the following year.
What a foreign employer's calendar should look like
A reasonable 13-day holiday calendar for a Bengaluru-based Indian team in a foreign-owned subsidiary:
- Republic Day (26 Jan)
- Holi (Mar)
- Ambedkar Jayanti (14 Apr)
- Labour Day (1 May)
- Independence Day (15 Aug)
- Ganesh Chaturthi (Aug-Sep)
- Gandhi Jayanti (2 Oct)
- Dussehra (Oct)
- Diwali (Oct-Nov, 2 days)
- Karnataka Rajyotsava (1 Nov)
- Christmas (25 Dec)
- + 2 floating festival holidays of the employee's choice
Operating tips for global teams
- Diwali week is sacred. Most Indian families travel; expect almost zero engineering output the week of Diwali. Plan no launches for that window.
- Avoid scheduling all-hands or critical reviews on regional festival days — even if it's a working day in another office, your Indian engineers may be observing.
- Floating holidays should be self-serve in the HRIS — employees pick from a list of declared options.
- For genuinely global product launches, work with your Indian managers a quarter in advance to avoid landing on major festivals.
Frequently asked questions
Can we just adopt a UK or US holiday calendar for our Indian team?+
Operationally yes, legally no. Three National Holidays (26 Jan, 15 Aug, 2 Oct) are mandatory across India. State-specific Shops Act lists are also mandatory in most states. Your Indian employees expect Diwali off — adopting a foreign-only calendar would be a major retention risk.
Do paid holidays count against the leave quota?+
No — public holidays are separate from casual / sick / earned leave. They're paid days off that don't deduct from the employee's leave balance.
What if Diwali falls on a Sunday?+
Most employers grant the next working day as the holiday (Diwali Monday) or grant the day off either side. The Shops Act in most states permits this substitution if declared in advance.
Does FastLegal pre-load the holiday calendar?+
Yes — every workspace ships with the current and next year's Indian holiday calendar pre-loaded. Your consultant calibrates it to your specific state and adds regional festivals as you add branches.
Stop reading circulars. Start running clean payroll.
Every FastLegal plan ships with a dedicated payroll consultant — a real human who runs your PF, ESI, PT, TDS and Form 16 issuance, configured to your salary structure, your state, and your hiring plan. You sign off. We do the rest.