The Office Memorandum issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions of the Government of India provides information regarding the holidays to be observed in Central Government Offices during the year 2024.
The memorandum states that the specified holidays listed in Annexure-I will be observed in all Administrative Offices of the Central Government located in Delhi/New Delhi. Additionally, employees will be allowed to choose any two holidays from the list of Restricted Holidays provided in Annexure-II.
Holidays to be observed in Central Government Offices during the year 2024
F.No.12 /2 /2023-JCA
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
(Department of Personnel and Training)
Establishment (JCA) Section
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
North Block, New Delhi
Dated the 3rd July, 2023
Subject: Holidays to be observed in Central Government Offices during the year 2024- reg.
It has been decided that the holidays, as specified in Annexure -I to this O.M., will be observed in all the Administrative Offices of the Central Government located at Delhi/ New Delhi during the year 2024. In addition, each employee will also be allowed to avail himself / herself of any two holidays to be chosen by him / her out of the list of Restricted Holidays specified at Annexure – II.
- Central Government Administrative Offices located outside Delhi / New Delhi shall observe the following holidays compulsorily in addition to three holidays, to be chosen out of the 12 optional holidays indicated below at para 3.1:
- REPUBLIC DAY
- INDEPENDENCE DAY
- MAHATMA GANDHI’S BIRTHDAY
- BUDDHA PURNIMA
- CHRISTMAS DAY
- DUSSEHRA (VIJAY DASHMI)
- DIWALI (DEEPAVALI)
- GOOD FRIDAY
- GURU NANAK’S BIRTHDAY
- IDU’L FITR
- IDU’L ZUHA
- MAHAVIR JAYANTI
- MUHARRAM
- PROPHET MOHAMMAD’S BIRTHDAY (ID-E-MILAD)
3.1. For offices located in New Delhi/ Delhi, three holidays are selected by the D/o Personnel & Training and for the offices located outside Delhi / New Delhi three holidays are to be chosen by the Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committee in the State Capitals, if necessary, in consultation with Coordination Committees at other places in the State, from the list indicated below. The final list, applicable uniformly to all Central Government offices within the concerned State, shall be notified accordingly and no change can be carried out thereafter. It is also clarified that no change is permissible in the festivals and dates, as indicated at Annexure -I and Annexure-Il baring a few exceptions indicated at para 5.1 and 5.2 hereinafter. The 12 optional holidays are as follows:
- AN ADDITIONAL DAY FOR DUSSEHRA
- HOLI
- JANAMASHTAMI (VAISHNAVI)
- RAM NAVAMI
- MAHA SHIVRATRI
- GANESH CHATURTHI / VINAYAK CHATURTHI
- MAKAR SANKARANTI
- RATH YATRA
- ONAM
- PONGAL
- SRI PANCHAMI / BASANT PANCHAMI
- VISHU/ VAISAKHI / VAISAKHADI / BHAG BIHU / MASHADI UGADI /CHAITRA SUKLADI / CHET! CHAND / GUDI PADAVA / 1st NAVRATRA /NAORAZ/ CHHATH POOJA/KARVA CHAUTH.
3.2 No substitute holiday should be allowed if any of the festival holidays, initially declared, subsequently happens to fall on a weekly off or any other non-working day or in the event of more than one festival falling on the same day.
- The list of Restricted Holidays appended as Annexure-II to this O.M. is meant for Central Government Offices located in Delhi / New Delhi. The Coordination Committees at the State Capitals may draw up separate list of Restricted Holidays keeping in view the occasions of local importance. However, the 9 occasions left over, after choosing the 3 variable holidays in para 3.1 above, are also to be included in the list of restricted holidays.
5.1 For offices in Delhi / New Delhi, any change in the date of holidays in respect of Idu’l Fitr, Idu’l Zuha, Muharram and Id-e-Milad, if necessary, depending upon sighting of the Moon, would be declared by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, after ascertaining the position from the Govt. of NCT of Delhi (DCP, Special Branch, Delhi Police) .
5.2 For offices outside Delhi / New Delhi, the Central Government Employees Welfare Coordination Committees at the State Capitals are authorised to change the date of holiday, if necessary, based on the decision of the concerned State Governments / Union Territories, in respect of Idu’l Fitr, Idu’l Zuha, Muharram and Id-e-Milad.
5.3 It may happen that the change of date in respect of the above occasions has to be declared at a very short notice. In such a situation, announcement could be made through P.1.B/T.V./ A.l.R. / Newspapers and the Heads of Department / Offices of the Central Government may take action according to such an announcement, without waiting for a formal order, about the change of date.
- During 2024, Diwali ( Deepavali) falls on Thursday, October 31, 2024 (Kartika 09) . In certain States, the practice is to celebrate the occasion a day in advance, i.e., on “Naraka Chaturdasi Day”. In view of this, there is no objection if holiday on account of Deepavali is observed on “Naraka Chaturdasi Day (in place of Deepavali Day) in the Central Government Offices in a State if in that State that day alone is declared as a compulsory holiday for Diwali for the offices of the State Government.
- Central Government Organisations which include industrial, commercial and trading establishments would observe upto 16 holidays in a year including three national holidays viz. Republic Day, Independence Day and Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, as compulsory holidays. The remaining holidays / occasions may be determined by such establishments/ organisations themselves for the year 2024, subject to para 3.2 above.
- Union Territory Administrations shall decide the list of holidays in terms of Instructions issued in this regard by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- In respect of Indian Missions abroad, the number of holidays may be notified m accordance with the instructions contained in this Department’s O.M. No.12 / 5/ 2002-JCA dated 17th December, 2002. In other words, they will have the option to select 14 (Fourteen) holidays of their own only after including in the list, three National Holidays and Mahavir Jayanti and Dussehra included in the list of compulsory holidays and falling on days of weekly off.
- In respect of Banks, the holidays shall be regulated in terms of the extant instructions issued by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.
- Hindi version will follow.
(Parven Jargar)
Deputy Secretary to the Govt. of India
23094678
ANNEXURE-I
LIST OF HOLIDAYS FOR THE YEAR 2024 TO BE OBSERVED IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT LOCATED AT DELHI / NEW DELHI
| S.No. | Holiday | Date | Saka Date | Day |
| 1945 SAKA ERA | ||||
| 1 | Republic Day | January 26 | Magha 06 | Friday |
| 1946 SAKA ERA | ||||
| 2 | Holi | March 25 | Chaitra 05 | Monday |
| 5 | Good Friday | March 29 | Chaitra 09 | Friday |
| 6 | Id-ul-Fitr | April 11 | Chaitra 22 | Thursday |
| 3 | Ram Navami | April 17 | Chaitra 28 | Wednesday |
| 4 | Mahavir Jayanti | April 21 | Vaisakha 01 | Sunday |
| 7 | Budha Purnima | May 23 | Jyaishtha 02 | Thursday |
| 8 | Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) | June 17 | Jyaishtha 27 | Monday |
| 9 | Muharram | July 17 | Ashadha 26 | Wednesday |
| 10 | Independence Day | August 15 | Sarvana 24 | Thursday |
| 11 | Janmashtami (Vaishnava) | August 26 | Bhadra 04 | Monday |
| 12 | Milad-un-Nabi or Id-e-Milad (Birthday of Prophet Mohammad) | September 16 | Bhadra 25 | Monday |
| 13 | Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday | October 02 | Asvina 10 | Wednesday |
| 14 | Dussehra | October 12 | Asvina 20 | Saturday |
| 15 | Diwali (Deepavali) | October 31 | Kartika 09 | Thursday |
| 16 | Guru Nanak’s Birthday | November 15 | Kartika 24 | Friday |
| 17 | Christmas Day | December 25 | Pausha 04 | Wednesday |
ANNEXURE-II
| S.No. | Holiday | Date | Saka Date | Day |
| SAKA ERA 1945 | ||||
| 1 | New Year’s Day | January 1 | Pausha 11 | Monday |
| 2 | Lohri | January 13 | Pausha 23 | Saturday |
| 3 | Makar Sankranti | January 14 | Pausha 24 | Sunday |
| 4 | Magha Bihu/Pongal | January 15 | Pausha 25 | Monday |
| 5 | Guru Gobind Singh’s Birthday | January 17 | Pausha 27 | Wednesday |
| 6 | Hazarat Ali’s Birthday | January 25 | Magha 05 | Thursday |
| 7 | Sri Panchami, Basant Panchami | February 14 | Magha 25 | Wednesday |
| 8 | Shiva ji Jayanti | February 19 | Magha 30 | Monday |
| 9 | Guru Ravi Das’s Birthday | February 24 | Phalguna 05 | Saturday |
| 10 | Birthday of Swami Dayananda Saraswati | March 6 | Phalguna 16 | Wednesday |
| 11 | Maha Shivratri | March 8 | Phalguna 18 | Friday |
| SAKA ERA 1946 | ||||
| 12 | Holika Dahan | March 24 | Chaitra 04 | Sunday |
| 13 | Dolyatra | March 25 | Chaitra 05 | Monday |
| 14 | Easter Sunday | March 31 | Chaitra 11 | Sunday |
| 15 | Jamat-Ul-Vida | April 5 | Chaitra 16 | Friday |
| 16 | Chaitra Sukladi / Gudi/ Padava/ Ugadi/ Cheti Chand | April 9 | Chaitra 20 | Tuesday |
| 17 | Vaisakhi / Vishu | April 13 | Chaitra 24 | Saturday |
| 18 | Meshadi (Tamil New Year’s Day)/ Vaisakhadi (Bengal) / Bahag Bihu (Assam) | April 14 | Chaitra 25 | Sunday |
| 19 | Birthday of Guru Rabindranath Tagore | May 08 | Vaisakha 18 | Wednesday |
| 20 | Rath Yatra | July 07 | Asadha 16 | Sunday |
| 21 | Parsi New Year’s day/ Nauraj | August 15 | Sravana 24 | Thursday |
| 22 | Raksha Bandhan | August 19 | Sravana 28 | Monday |
| 23 | Ganesh Chaturthi/ Vinayaka Chaturthi | September 07 | Bhadra 16 | Saturday |
| 24 | Onam or Thiru Onam Day | September 15 | Bhadra 24 | Sunday |
| 25 | Dussehra (Saptami) | October 10 | Asvina 18 | Thursday |
| 26 | Dussehra (Mahashtami)/ Dussehra (Mahanavmi) | October 11 | Asvina 19 | Friday |
| 27 | Maharishi Valmiki’s Birthday | October 17 | Asvina 25 | Thursday |
| 28 | Karaka Chaturthi (Karwa Chouth) | October 20 | Asvina 28 | Sunday |
| 29 | Naraka Chaturdasi | October 31 | Kartika 09 | Thursday |
| 30 | Govardhan Puja | November 02 | Kartika 11 | Saturday |
| 31 | Bhai Duj | November 03 | Kartika 12 | Sunday |
| 32 | PratiharShashthi or Surya Shashthi (Chhat Puja) | November 07 | Kartika 16 | Thursday |
| 33 | Guru Teg Bahadur’s Martyrdom Day | November 24 | Agrahayana 03 | Sunday |
| 34 | Christmas Eve | December 24 | Pausha 03 | Tuesday |