Legal Regulations
The legal framework for working days in India is governed by the Factories Act, 1948, the Shops and Establishments Acts of respective states, and central government notifications for public holidays. The law mandates a maximum 48-hour work week, overtime pay, and specific provisions for weekly holidays. The list of Gazetted Holidays is issued by the central government, while Restricted Holidays allow employees to choose a limited number of optional days off based on personal preference.
In India, Gazetted Holidays are mandatory public holidays declared by the Government of India where all central government offices remain closed. Restricted holidays are optional; central government employees may avail any two of these during the year as per their personal or religious preferences. The United States has federal holidays, but private sector observance varies, with many businesses remaining open.
India's working day regulations are governed by the Factories Act, Shops and Establishments Acts of respective states, and central government notifications. The holiday system for government offices is structured into mandatory Gazetted Holidays and optional Restricted Holidays, where employees can choose a limited number of days off based on personal or religious preference. Standard working hours are typically 9 hours per day and 48 hours per week, with overtime regulations in place.
News
The Central Government has officially released the 2026 holiday calendar, listing 17 Gazetted Holidays and a wide range of Restricted Holidays. No major changes to federal holiday laws or working hour regulations have been announced for 2026. The calendar facilitates planning for long weekends, as noted in related articles.
Insights
India's working culture includes a system of 'Restricted Holidays' where employees, especially in government and large organizations, can choose from a list of optional holidays based on their religious or cultural background. Strategic vacation planning, or creating 'bridge days' between holidays and weekends, is a common practice. The typical formal work schedule often runs from 9 AM to 5 PM or 10 AM to 6 PM, though this can vary significantly by region and sector.
Indian holiday lists are designed to spread out gazetted and optional holidays throughout the year, making it easier to plan time off. In the US, there is a culture of strategically combining vacation days with public holidays to extend time off, as promoted in articles about the 'best days to take off'. India's diverse society means holiday observances can vary significantly by region and community.
Many holidays in 2026 fall near weekends, allowing employees to plan for extended breaks. The culture often involves 'bridge days' where employees take leave between a holiday and a weekend to create a longer vacation. A typical work schedule is 9 AM to 6 PM, with a lunch break, though this can vary by region and sector.
2026 Working days summary for Bihar, India
Bihar, India has 237 working days in 2026. This is calculated from 365 total calendar days, minus 95 weekend days (Saturday-Sunday), and minus 33 holidays. The standard work week runs Monday through Friday.
237
Working Days
95
Weekend Days
33
Holidays
Monthly Breakdown
| Month | Working | Weekend | Holidays | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20 | 9 | 2 | 31 |
| February | 19 | 6 | 3 | 28 |
| March | 17 | 8 | 6 | 31 |
| April | 19 | 7 | 4 | 30 |
| May | 19 | 10 | 2 | 31 |
| June | 20 | 8 | 2 | 30 |
| July | 23 | 8 | 0 | 31 |
| August | 19 | 9 | 3 | 31 |
| September | 21 | 8 | 1 | 30 |
| October | 19 | 7 | 5 | 31 |
| November | 19 | 7 | 4 | 30 |
| December | 22 | 8 | 1 | 31 |
| Total | 237 | 95 | 33 | 365 |
2026 Calendar for Bihar, India
January 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 New Year's Day New Year's Day | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
12 | 13 | 14 Makar Sankranti Makar Sankranti | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 Basant Panchami Basant Panchami | 24 Karpoori Thakur Jayanti Karpoori Thakur Jayanti | 25 |
26 Republic Day Republic Day | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
20 working days, 9 weekend days, and 2 holidays in January 2026.
February 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Sant Ravidas Jayanti Sant Ravidas Jayanti | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 Shab-e-Barat Shab-e-Barat | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 Maha Shivratri Maha Shivratri |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
19 working days, 6 weekend days, and 3 holidays in February 2026.
March 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 Holika Dahan Holika Dahan | 3 Holi Holi | 4 Holi Holi | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 Last Friday of Ramzan Last Friday of Ramzan | 14 | 15 |
16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 Eid-ul-Fitr Eid-ul-Fitr | 22 Eid-ul-Fitr (Optional) Eid-ul-Fitr (Optional) |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 Samrat Ashok Ashtami Samrat Ashok Ashtami | 27 Ram Navami Ram Navami | 28 | 29 |
30 | 31 Mahavir Jayanti Mahavir Jayanti |
17 working days, 8 weekend days, and 6 holidays in March 2026.
April 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 Good Friday Good Friday | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 Ambedkar Jayanti Ambedkar Jayanti | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 Veer Kunwar Singh Jayanti Veer Kunwar Singh Jayanti | 24 | 25 Janaki Navami Janaki Navami | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
19 working days, 7 weekend days, and 4 holidays in April 2026.
May 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Buddha Purnima Buddha Purnima | 2 | 3 | ||||
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
25 | 26 | 27 | 28 Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) | 29 Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) (Optional) Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) (Optional) | 30 | 31 |
19 working days, 10 weekend days, and 2 holidays in May 2026.
June 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
15 | 16 | 17 | 18 Anugrah Narayan Sinha Jayanti Anugrah Narayan Sinha Jayanti | 19 | 20 | 21 |
22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 Muharram Muharram | 27 Muharram (Optional) Muharram (Optional) | 28 |
29 Kabir Jayanti Kabir Jayanti | 30 |
20 working days, 8 weekend days, and 2 holidays in June 2026.
July 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
23 working days, 8 weekend days in July 2026.
August 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | |||||
3 | 4 Chehlum Chehlum | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 Independence Day Independence Day | 16 |
17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
24 Last Shravan Monday Last Shravan Monday | 25 | 26 Prophet Muhammad's Birthday Prophet Muhammad's Birthday | 27 | 28 Raksha Bandhan Raksha Bandhan | 29 | 30 |
31 |
19 working days, 9 weekend days, and 3 holidays in August 2026.
September 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Janmashtami Janmashtami | 5 | 6 | |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14 Hartalika Teej Hartalika Teej | 15 | 16 | 17 Vishwakarma Puja Vishwakarma Puja | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 Anant Chaturdashi Anant Chaturdashi | 26 | 27 |
28 | 29 | 30 |
21 working days, 8 weekend days, and 1 holiday in September 2026.
October 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 Gandhi Jayanti Gandhi Jayanti | 3 | 4 Jivitputrika Vrat Jivitputrika Vrat | |||
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 Jayaprakash Narayan Jayanti Jayaprakash Narayan Jayanti |
12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 Durga Puja (Saptami) Durga Puja (Saptami) | 18 Durga Puja Durga Puja |
19 Durga Puja Durga Puja | 20 Durga Puja Durga Puja | 21 Shri Krishna Singh Jayanti Shri Krishna Singh Jayanti | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
19 working days, 7 weekend days, and 5 holidays in October 2026.
November 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 Diwali Diwali |
9 | 10 Chitragupt Puja / Bhai Dooj Chitragupt Puja / Bhai Dooj | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 Chhath Puja (Kharna) Chhath Puja (Kharna) | 15 Chhath Puja Chhath Puja |
16 Chhath Puja Chhath Puja | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
30 |
19 working days, 7 weekend days, and 4 holidays in November 2026.
December 2026
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 Dr. Rajendra Prasad Jayanti Dr. Rajendra Prasad Jayanti | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 Christmas Eve Christmas Eve | 25 Christmas Christmas | 26 | 27 |
28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
22 working days, 8 weekend days, and 1 holiday in December 2026.
Changelog
| 2026-05-17 22:24:44 | The holiday set for Bihar in 2026 has been updated to reflect a few changes, including the addition of new observances and the modification of some existing ones. |
| 2026-05-05 10:48:16 | The holiday set for Bihar in 2026 has been expanded with the addition of several new observances while also refining existing dates. |