Holidays for the next year

The government has announced 17 holidays for the central government staff for the year 2011, although three of these holidays - Mahavir Jayanti (April 16), Mahatma Gandhi's birthday (October 2) and Christmas (December 25) - fall on a Saturday or Sunday, thus effectively leaving only 14 holidays.

In case of the states, 14 compulsory holidays are declared, while the remaining three holidays are to be added from a list of 12 occasions listed in the notification by the central government employees' welfare coordination committee in the state capitals.

The compulsory holidays are Republic Day, Independence Day, Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, Buddha Purnima, Christmas, Dussehra (Vijaya Dashmi), Diwali (Deepavali), Good Friday, Guru Nanak's birthday, Id-ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Zuha, Mahavir Jayanti, Muharram and Prophet Mohammed's birthday (Id-e-Milad).

The total restricted holidays for the government employees are 35, though 10 of them fall on Saturdays or Sundays when the offices are already closed in any case.

The notification also says that the number of holidays for banks is restricted to 15 days. Other central government organisations, like industrial, commercial and trading establishments, are permitted to declare a maximum of 16 days, but with the condition that they must include the national holidays of Republic Day, Independence Day and Mahatma Gandhi's birthday.

Here is the list of holidays:

Republic Day, January 26;
Prophet Mohammed's birthday, February 16;
Maha Shiv Ratri, March 2;
Ram Navmi, April 12;
Mahavir Jayanti, April 16;
Good Friday, April 22;
Buddha Purnima, May 17;
Independence Day, August 15;
Janmashtmi, August 22;
Id-ul-Fitr, August 31;
Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, October 2;
Dussehra, October 6;
Diwali, October 26;
Id-ul-Zuha (Bakr-Id), November 7;
Guru Nanak's birthday, November 10;
Muharram, December 6; and
Christmas, December 25.