In short: India lists 18 national public holiday dates for 2027 — but seven of them fall on a weekend, and India does not move them to a weekday. Below is the complete list, the four long weekends it creates, and the one place where some official gazettes disagree with this dataset by a single day.
7 October 2026 — The full set of public holidays in India 2027 now stands at 18 dated national entries in PublicHolidayCalendar.com’s 2027 dataset, running from Republic Day on 26 January to Christmas on 25 December. The dataset, published as part of the 2027 public holiday calendar for 191 countries, records each date, its weekday and its type. In India the weekday column matters more than in most countries, because of a rule set out below: India does not create substitute days off.
That rule turns an apparently generous 18-holiday year into something more complicated for anyone counting actual days off — and it is why India holidays 2027 cannot be read off a list of bank holidays without checking the weekday each date lands on.
How many public holidays does India have in 2027?
The direct answer is 18. That is the number of dated national holiday entries in the 2027 dataset for India — one for each festival or national day observed across the country. It is the same count we use when India public holidays are compared with other countries, and it is the figure that answers “how many public holidays in India” for 2027.
The table below is the full list, in date order and with weekdays:
| Date | Weekday | Holiday | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 January 2027 | Tuesday | Republic Day | National |
| 6 March 2027 | Saturday | Maha Shivaratri | National |
| 10 March 2027 | Wednesday | Eid al-Fitr (estimated) | National |
| 22 March 2027 | Monday | Holi | National |
| 26 March 2027 | Friday | Good Friday | National |
| 14 April 2027 | Wednesday | Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s Birthday | National |
| 15 April 2027 | Thursday | Ram Navami | National |
| 18 April 2027 | Sunday | Mahavira’s Birthday | National |
| 17 May 2027 | Monday | Eid al-Adha (estimated) | National |
| 20 May 2027 | Thursday | Buddha Purnima | National |
| 16 June 2027 | Wednesday | Ashura (estimated) | National |
| 15 August 2027 | Sunday | Independence Day; Prophet’s Birthday (estimated) | National |
| 25 August 2027 | Wednesday | Janmashtami (Vaishnava) | National |
| 2 October 2027 | Saturday | Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday | National |
| 9 October 2027 | Saturday | Dussehra | National |
| 29 October 2027 | Friday | Diwali (Deepavali) | National |
| 14 November 2027 | Sunday | Guru Nanak’s Birthday | National |
| 25 December 2027 | Saturday | Christmas | National |
Two entries in that list need a note. On 15 August 2027, Independence Day and the Prophet’s Birthday (estimated) fall on the same Sunday — one date carrying two nominal holidays, not two days off. And 14 and 15 April are consecutive weekday holidays: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s Birthday on the Wednesday, Ram Navami on the Thursday.
Weekend holidays: why India’s count is deceptively high
Of the 18 dates, seven fall on a weekend and eleven fall on a working day.
That split is where India diverges from the United States, the United Kingdom and much of Europe. Those jurisdictions operate a substitute or observed-day rule: when a fixed-date holiday lands on a Saturday or Sunday, a nearby weekday becomes the day off instead. India’s national calendar does not work that way. A holiday that falls on a weekend is observed on that weekend, and no compensating working day is created.
The seven weekend dates in 2027 are:
- Saturday: 6 March (Maha Shivaratri), 2 October (Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday), 9 October (Dussehra), 25 December (Christmas)
- Sunday: 18 April (Mahavira’s Birthday), 15 August (Independence Day and Prophet’s Birthday), 14 November (Guru Nanak’s Birthday)
For salaried workers on a Monday-to-Friday week, those seven dates are largely absorbed by the weekend. So India’s headline count of 18 is closer to 11 in weekday office closures — which is why the long weekends in 2027 analysis measures usable time off better than the raw number.
India’s 2027 long weekends: four three-day breaks
Applying the standard long-weekend method — every run of three or more consecutive non-working days, counting the holiday dates plus all Saturdays and Sundays — India’s 2027 calendar produces four long weekends.
| # | Dates | Days | Anchor holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20–22 March 2027 (Sat–Mon) | 3 | Holi |
| 2 | 26–28 March 2027 (Fri–Sun) | 3 | Good Friday |
| 3 | 15–17 May 2027 (Sat–Mon) | 3 | Eid al-Adha (estimated) |
| 4 | 29–31 October 2027 (Fri–Sun) | 3 | Diwali (Deepavali) |
All four are created the same way: a holiday lands on a Friday or a Monday and pulls an ordinary weekend into a three-day run. None depends on a substitute day, because India has none. Two of the four fall in March.
March 2027 is India’s densest holiday month
No other month comes close to March. It carries four public holidays — Maha Shivaratri (6 March), Eid al-Fitr (10 March, estimated), Holi (22 March) and Good Friday (26 March) — and two of the year’s four long weekends. For anyone planning travel, recruitment or project deadlines across an India-facing team, March is the month to plan around.
The next cluster is April, with three dates (Ambedkar’s Birthday, Ram Navami and Mahavira’s Birthday) in a single fortnight. The second half of the year runs thin until the autumn, when Dussehra and Diwali arrive two weeks apart, on 9 and 29 October.
India is a good test of a holiday dataset, because the headline number and the usable number are so far apart. Eighteen dates sounds like a generous year until you apply the weekend rule and the absence of substitute days — and find that only four of them create a long weekend.
— Public Holiday Calendar editorial team
India’s 2027 festival dates, and what each one marks
Each date below is observed nationwide in the 2027 dataset; local practice varies, as the next section explains.
National days
- Republic Day — 26 January. Marks the coming into force of India’s constitution in 1950. New Delhi hosts the national parade and march past, and flag-raising ceremonies are held across the country.
- Independence Day — 15 August. Marks the end of British rule in 1947. The Prime Minister addresses the nation from the Red Fort in Delhi, and the national flag is raised nationwide.
- Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday — 2 October. A commemorative holiday marking the birth of Mahatma Gandhi.
Hindu festivals
- Maha Shivaratri — 6 March. A night dedicated to Shiva, observed with fasting and an all-night vigil.
- Holi — 22 March (with observances into 23 March). The Holi 2027 date is 22 March. The festival of colours marks the end of winter and the victory of good over evil; it opens with the Holika Dahan bonfire on the evening of 22 March, followed by the throwing of coloured powder.
- Ram Navami — 15 April. Marks the birth of Rama.
- Janmashtami (Vaishnava) — 25 August. Marks the birth of Krishna.
- Dussehra — 9 October. Celebrates Rama’s victory over Ravana; effigies of Ravana are burned in many places, and the date often closes the Durga Puja season.
- Diwali (Deepavali) — 29 October. The Diwali 2027 date is 29 October. The festival of lights is observed over five days from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj. It is marked with diya lamps, rangoli, Lakshmi puja, sweets and gifts, and fireworks in some regions. Hindu, Jain and Sikh traditions each carry their own narrative for the festival.
Islamic festivals
Four dates in the list are Islamic observances, and all four are marked (estimated) because their exact dates depend on the sighting of the moon and are confirmed by official announcement nearer the time:
- Eid al-Fitr — 10 March (estimated). Marks the end of Ramadan.
- Eid al-Adha — 17 May (estimated). Coincides with the Hajj pilgrimage.
- Ashura — 16 June (estimated).
- Prophet’s Birthday — 15 August (estimated). Falls on the same day as Independence Day in 2027.
Other faith holidays
- Mahavira’s Birthday — 18 April. Marks the birth of Mahavira, a central figure in Jainism.
- Buddha Purnima — 20 May. Marks the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha; also observed as Vesak.
- Guru Nanak’s Birthday — 14 November. Marks the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
- Good Friday — 26 March and Christmas — 25 December. Christian observances, with Christmas closing the year’s list.
Why this list may differ by a day — and by state
Two honest caveats apply, and both are stated rather than hidden.
Religious dates depend on observation. The four Islamic dates are estimates until confirmed by moon sighting, and the final public-holiday date is set by official announcement. The 2027 dataset labels them accordingly rather than presenting an estimate as fact.
Holidays are partly set at state level. India’s national public holidays are supplemented — and in a few cases replaced — by state and regional holidays. This list is the national set used in the dataset; some states add local holidays or omit certain festivals. It should not be read as a claim that every state observes the same dates in the same way. Anyone planning around a specific state should treat the national list as a starting point, not a final answer.
One date frame differs between official gazettes. In some official gazetted lists for 2027, Holi is shown as 23 March and Mahavira’s Birthday as 19 April, each a day later than this dataset. There is no error in either direction: Holi’s first night, Holika Dahan, falls on the evening of 22 March, and the coloured-powder play follows on 23 March in many states, so both dates legitimately appear in official documents. This dataset takes Holi as 22 March and Mahavira’s Birthday as 18 April; the later dates are the same festival referenced to a different day of its observance. We flag the discrepancy rather than suppress it: a reader comparing two official lists will otherwise assume one is wrong.
Comparing India’s year with the wider region
India’s 18 national entries place it among the higher counts globally — level with China in the 2027 comparison and above most European countries, though the ranking shifts once you compare which country has the most public holidays by counting method rather than raw rows. Within Asia, the density of festival dates and the no-substitute rule give India a distinctive pattern: a busy spring, a quiet autumn, and a headline number that overstates the days that fall on a working day.
For a wider view, browse Asia public holidays or start from all countries. If you need the surrounding years, the India 2026 calendar and the India 2025 calendar are published in the same format. The complete 2027 list, with weekday and type for every date, is on the public holidays in India 2027 page.
About Public Holiday Calendar
PublicHolidayCalendar.com publishes public holiday and school holiday calendars for 192 countries and territories, covering 2025, 2026 and 2027. Dates are sourced from official national channels; anything unverified is labelled rather than estimated. Known data-quality issues are disclosed on the affected pages rather than hidden.
Contact
Public Holiday Calendar editorial team
privacy@publicholidaycalendar.com
https://www.publicholidaycalendar.com/