What the order says
- Offices in Delhi and New Delhi observe the 17 closed holidays in the first list, and each employee may also take any two restricted holidays.
- Offices outside Delhi observe 14 compulsory holidays, and three more chosen from 12 optional festivals by the state's coordination committee. The 14 are Republic Day, Independence Day, Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday, Buddha Purnima, Christmas Day, Dussehra, Diwali, Good Friday, Guru Nanak's Birthday, Id-ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Zuha, Mahavir Jayanti, Muharram and Id-e-Milad.
- No substitute holiday is given when a festival falls on a weekly off.
- Id-ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Zuha, Muharram and Id-e-Milad can change with the moon. Delhi announces any change after checking with the Delhi Police Special Branch.
- Where a state observes Naraka Chaturdasi on the day of Diwali, central offices there may take Diwali on that day.
Building your company's holiday calendar
If you run HR for a private company, this list is a reference, not a rule. A practical order of work:
- Start with your state's list. Most states publish the festival holidays that employers must or may give. Look on the state labour department site, and check what your state's Shops and Establishments rules say for your type of business.
- Add the national days. Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti are observed as national holidays everywhere.
- Decide on floating holidays. Many employers give two or three optional days so staff can choose festivals that matter to them. The restricted list above is a useful menu.
- Write the weekend rule down. Say in the policy whether a holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday is lost or replaced. The central order gives no replacement.
- Mark moon-dependent days as tentative. Publish them with a note that the date may move by a day.
- Publish early. Share the full calendar before the year begins so teams can plan leave and shift cover around the long weekends.
Check the final list against your state notification and, if you have staff in several states, keep one calendar per state.
Source
Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum F.No. 12/2/2023-JCA, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (DoPT), dated 3 July 2025, Annexure-I (closed holidays) and Annexure-II (restricted holidays). Weekdays were checked against the calendar. Rules last reviewed 9 November 2026. Other year: Central Government holiday list 2027.