The November 2026 central government holiday list includes Diwali on Sunday, 8 November, and Guru Nanak's Birthday on Tuesday, 24 November. Several other November observances appear in the restricted holiday list. Those entries do not mean that every central government office closes on each date. For an office visit or leave request, the distinction between a closed holiday and an employee's restricted holiday matters more than the total number of festivals in a calendar.

This guide covers the central government administrative-office framework, checked on 28 October 2026. It uses the official holiday list published by the Director General of Audit, Defence Services, New Delhi and the Department of Personnel and Training memorandum dated 3 July 2025, available on an official government website. It is not a blanket closure announcement for schools, banks, courts or private employers.

November 2026 holidays: which dates are in the official list?

DateDayObservanceList category
8 November 2026SundayDiwali or DeepavaliGazetted holiday
8 November 2026SundayNaraka ChaturdasiRestricted holiday
9 November 2026MondayGovardhan PujaRestricted holiday
11 November 2026WednesdayBhai DujRestricted holiday
15 November 2026SundayPratihar Shashthi or Surya Shashthi, Chhat PujaRestricted holiday
24 November 2026TuesdayGuru Nanak's BirthdayGazetted holiday
24 November 2026TuesdayGuru Teg Bahadur's Martyrdom DayRestricted holiday

These are administrative holiday dates as printed in the official calendar. They should not be used as a substitute for a city-specific religious calculation or ceremony schedule. In particular, a holiday entry does not supply a puja time, a temple opening time or an event programme. Readers seeking those details need the relevant panchang or the organiser's official announcement.

What is the difference between a gazetted and restricted holiday?

The DoPT office memorandum, F.No.12/2/2023-JCA, says the holidays in Annexure I apply to central government administrative offices in Delhi and New Delhi. It separately allows each employee to choose any two holidays from the restricted list in Annexure II. The two lists therefore perform different functions: one sets office holidays, while the other provides a limited individual choice.

For example, Govardhan Puja appears on Monday, 9 November, in the restricted list. That entry alone does not establish a closure for the whole office. An employee planning to use a restricted holiday should check the office's applicable calendar and leave process. A member of the public planning an appointment should check that office's service notice rather than infer opening hours from a festival name.

Is Monday, 9 November, automatically a holiday after Diwali?

No automatic substitute day follows from Diwali falling on Sunday. Paragraph 3.2 of the memorandum says a substitute holiday should not be allowed when a declared festival holiday falls on a weekly off or another non-working day, or when more than one festival falls on the same day. The Sunday entry therefore cannot, by itself, support a claim that Monday has also been declared closed.

The memorandum also discusses the possibility of observing the Deepavali holiday on Naraka Chaturdasi in certain states under the conditions stated there. This is a specific administrative provision. It does not create a general extra holiday for every office in India. Anyone relying on a state-specific arrangement should obtain the calendar that actually applies to their office.

Does the same calendar apply outside Delhi?

Outside Delhi and New Delhi, the memorandum identifies 14 compulsory holidays for central government administrative offices and provides for three additional holidays selected through the coordination committees at state capitals. Those committees can also prepare restricted holiday lists reflecting local occasions. A Delhi restricted holiday list should therefore not be copied into a state-office calendar without checking its applicability.

Nor does this memorandum determine the entire operating calendar of every government-linked organisation. It contains separate provisions for industrial, commercial and trading establishments. Schools, courts and banks can have their own competent authorities and notices. Before arranging travel around an appointment, check the institution's name, jurisdiction and latest circular. A long list headed simply "India holidays" can obscure all three.

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