lastUpdated: 2026-06-22
India Public Holidays in 2020: The Complete Guide
India's holiday calendar is one of the most layered and diverse in the world, reflecting the country's extraordinary religious plurality, regional cultural variation, and the federal structure that gives individual states authority over many local holidays. Understanding the difference between national Gazetted holidays, state-specific Restricted holidays, and the dozens of awareness days and observances that fill the Indian calendar is essential for anyone planning around India in 2020 — whether managing a multi-state workforce, scheduling travel, or simply trying to understand which dates carry which significance.
Gazetted vs. Restricted Holidays in India
India's public holidays fall into two main categories under central government classification. Gazetted Holidays are the holidays on which all central government offices, banks, and most private establishments close nationwide — these include the three National Holidays (Republic Day, Independence Day, and Gandhi Jayanti) along with major religious festivals such as Holi, Diwali, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, Christmas Day, Good Friday, Guru Nanak Jayanti, and Dussehra. Central government employees are entitled to these days off as a matter of national policy.
Restricted Holidays, by contrast, are a longer list of optional holidays — typically tied to regional or community-specific festivals — from which central government employees may choose a limited number (often two or three per year) to observe according to personal or regional preference. State governments additionally declare their own state-specific holidays, meaning the practical holiday calendar in 2020 can vary meaningfully between, say, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal, even though all three observe the same national Gazetted holidays.
Major Festivals and Long Weekends in 2020
Several of India's most significant festivals — Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, and Muharram — follow the Islamic lunar Hijri calendar and are tentative until confirmed by moon sighting, typically announced only a day or two in advance. Similarly, Hindu festivals including Holi, Maha Shivaratri, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, and Diwali follow the Hindu lunar calendar and shift annually relative to the Gregorian calendar, making it essential to confirm exact 2020 dates closer to each festival rather than relying on the previous year's calendar.
Diwali, India's largest festival, typically anchors a five-day stretch of celebration even though only the main day is a Gazetted holiday in most states — many businesses and schools extend closures informally around it. Checking which day of the week major festivals fall on in 2020 is worthwhile, as festivals landing near a weekend can create valuable long weekends for travel and family gatherings.
Plan Ahead with the Printable PDF Calendar
Navigating India's combination of fixed national holidays, lunar-based religious festivals, and state-specific Restricted Holidays is considerably easier with a dedicated printable PDF calendar for 2020. A well-structured India holiday calendar should clearly distinguish Gazetted holidays from Restricted and regional ones, confirm lunar festival dates once announced, and flag tentative Islamic holidays pending moon sighting confirmation.
Our downloadable 2020 India public holiday calendar covers all Gazetted national holidays, major regional festivals, and key observances and awareness days — formatted for A4 printing and ready for office noticeboards, HR leave planning, and personal use throughout 2020.