2026 India & Global Calendar
The Definitive Chronological List of National, International, and UN Observances
| Date | Observance / Designation |
|---|---|
| JANUARY 2026 | |
| 01 Jan | New Year’s Day; Global Family Day; World Peace Day National |
| 02 Jan | World Introvert Day |
| 03 Jan | International Mind‑Body Wellness Day; Magh Mela begins |
| 04 Jan | World Braille Day UN |
| 05 Jan | National Bird Day |
| 06 Jan | World Day of War Orphans; Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti Festival |
| 09 Jan | NRI Day (Pravasi Bharatiya Divas) National |
| 10 Jan | World Hindi Day |
| 11 Jan | Death Anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri; National Human Trafficking Awareness Day |
| 12 Jan | National Youth Day (Swami Vivekananda Jayanti) National |
| 13 Jan | Lohri Festival |
| 14 Jan | Makar Sankranti; Pongal; Shattila Ekadashi Festival |
| 15 Jan | Indian Army Day National |
| 16 Jan | National Startup Day National |
| 23 Jan | Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Jayanti (Parakram Diwas); Vasant Panchami National |
| 24 Jan | National Girl Child Day; International Day of Education UN |
| 25 Jan | National Voters’ Day; National Tourism Day National |
| 26 Jan | Republic Day Gazetted; International Customs Day UN |
| 27 Jan | International Holocaust Remembrance Day UN |
| 29 Jan | Indian Newspaper Day; Jaya Ekadashi |
| 30 Jan | Martyrs’ Day (Shaheed Diwas); World Leprosy Day National |
| FEBRUARY 2026 | |
| 01 Feb | Indian Coast Guard Day; Guru Ravidas Jayanti |
| 02 Feb | World Wetlands Day UN |
| 04 Feb | World Cancer Day; International Day of Human Fraternity UN |
| 06 Feb | International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation UN |
| 10 Feb | World Pulses Day UN; National Deworming Day |
| 11 Feb | International Day of Women and Girls in Science UN |
| 12 Feb | National Productivity Day; Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati Jayanti |
| 13 Feb | World Radio Day UN; National Women's Day (Sarojini Naidu Birth Anniversary) |
| 15 Feb | Maha Shivaratri Festival |
| 20 Feb | World Day of Social Justice UN; Arunachal Pradesh & Mizoram Foundation Day |
| 21 Feb | International Mother Language Day UN |
| 24 Feb | Central Excise Day |
| 28 Feb | National Science Day National |
| MARCH 2026 | |
| 01 Mar | Zero Discrimination Day; World Seagrass Day UN |
| 03 Mar | World Wildlife Day UN; World Hearing Day |
| 04 Mar | Holi Gazetted; National Safety Day |
| 08 Mar | International Women’s Day UN |
| 10 Mar | CISF Raising Day; International Day of Women Judges UN |
| 14 Mar | International Day of Mathematics (Pi Day) UN |
| 15 Mar | World Consumer Rights Day; Papamochani Ekadashi |
| 16 Mar | National Vaccination Day |
| 19 Mar | Ugadi; Gudi Padwa; Eid-al-Fitr (Tentative) Festival |
| 20 Mar | International Day of Happiness; World Sparrow Day |
| 21 Mar | International Day of Forests; World Poetry Day; World Down Syndrome Day UN |
| 22 Mar | World Water Day UN; Bihar Day |
| 23 Mar | Shaheed Diwas (Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru); World Meteorological Day UN |
| 24 Mar | World Tuberculosis (TB) Day UN |
| 26 Mar | Ram Navami Gazetted |
| 31 Mar | Mahavir Jayanti Gazetted |
| APRIL 2026 | |
| 01 Apr | Odisha Day (Utkala Dibasa); RBI Foundation Day |
| 02 Apr | World Autism Awareness Day UN |
| 03 Apr | Good Friday Gazetted |
| 05 Apr | National Maritime Day; Easter Sunday |
| 07 Apr | World Health Day UN |
| 11 Apr | National Safe Motherhood Day |
| 13 Apr | Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Day; Varuthini Ekadashi |
| 14 Apr | Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Jayanti; Vaisakhi National |
| 15 Apr | Bohag Bihu; Himachal Day |
| 18 Apr | World Heritage Day |
| 21 Apr | National Civil Services Day |
| 22 Apr | Earth Day UN |
| 23 Apr | World Book and Copyright Day UN |
| 24 Apr | National Panchayati Raj Day |
| 25 Apr | World Malaria Day |
| 26 Apr | Akshaya Tritiya; World Intellectual Property Day |
| MAY 2026 | |
| 01 May | International Labour Day; Maharashtra Day; Gujarat Day; Buddha Purnima Gazetted |
| 03 May | World Press Freedom Day UN; World Laughter Day |
| 07 May | Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti; World Athletics Day |
| 08 May | World Red Cross Day |
| 11 May | National Technology Day National |
| 12 May | International Nurses Day |
| 15 May | International Day of Families UN |
| 17 May | World Telecommunication and Information Society Day UN |
| 21 May | National Anti-Terrorism Day |
| 22 May | International Day for Biological Diversity UN |
| 27 May | Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) (Tentative) Gazetted; Padmini Ekadashi |
| 31 May | World No Tobacco Day UN |
| JUNE 2026 | |
| 01 Jun | Global Day of Parents UN; World Milk Day |
| 05 Jun | World Environment Day UN |
| 07 Jun | World Food Safety Day UN |
| 08 Jun | World Oceans Day UN |
| 12 Jun | World Day Against Child Labour |
| 14 Jun | World Blood Donor Day UN |
| 17 Jun | World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought UN |
| 21 Jun | International Day of Yoga UN; World Music Day; Father's Day |
| 23 Jun | United Nations Public Service Day UN |
| 26 Jun | Muharram (Tentative) Gazetted; International Day against Drug Abuse UN |
| 29 Jun | National Statistics Day |
| JULY 2026 | |
| 01 Jul | National Doctor’s Day; GST Day (India); Chartered Accountants Day |
| 11 Jul | World Population Day UN |
| 12 Jul | World Malala Day |
| 15 Jul | World Youth Skills Day UN |
| 16 Jul | Rath Yatra Festival |
| 18 Jul | Nelson Mandela International Day UN |
| 26 Jul | Kargil Vijay Diwas National |
| 28 Jul | World Nature Conservation Day; World Hepatitis Day |
| 29 Jul | International Tiger Day; Guru Purnima |
| 30 Jul | World Day Against Trafficking in Persons UN |
| AUGUST 2026 | |
| 01-07 Aug | World Breastfeeding Week |
| 07 Aug | National Handloom Day; Javelin Throw Day |
| 09 Aug | Quit India Movement Day; International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples UN |
| 12 Aug | International Youth Day UN; World Elephant Day |
| 15 Aug | Independence Day Gazetted |
| 19 Aug | World Humanitarian Day UN; World Photography Day |
| 20 Aug | Sadbhavana Diwas |
| 23 Aug | National Space Day National |
| 26 Aug | Milad-un-Nabi (Tentative) Gazetted; Onam; Women's Equality Day |
| 28 Aug | Raksha Bandhan Festival |
| 29 Aug | National Sports Day National |
| SEPTEMBER 2026 | |
| 04 Sep | Janmashtami Gazetted |
| 05 Sep | Teachers’ Day (India); International Day of Charity UN |
| 08 Sep | International Literacy Day UN |
| 14 Sep | Hindi Diwas (National); Ganesh Chaturthi Festival |
| 15 Sep | Engineers’ Day (India); International Day of Democracy UN |
| 16 Sep | World Ozone Day UN |
| 21 Sep | International Day of Peace UN; World Alzheimer’s Day |
| 22 Sep | World Rose Day (Welfare of Cancer Patients); Parsva Ekadashi |
| 27 Sep | World Tourism Day UN |
| 29 Sep | World Heart Day |
| OCTOBER 2026 | |
| 01 Oct | International Day of Older Persons UN; World Vegetarian Day |
| 02 Oct | Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday Gazetted; International Day of Non-Violence UN |
| 05 Oct | World Teachers’ Day UN; World Habitat Day |
| 08 Oct | Indian Air Force Day |
| 09 Oct | World Post Day UN |
| 10 Oct | World Mental Health Day UN; National Post Day |
| 11 Oct | International Day of the Girl Child UN |
| 15 Oct | International Day of Rural Women UN; World Students’ Day |
| 16 Oct | World Food Day UN |
| 17 Oct | International Day for the Eradication of Poverty UN |
| 20 Oct | Dussehra Gazetted; World Statistics Day |
| 24 Oct | United Nations Day UN; World Polio Day |
| 31 Oct | National Unity Day (Rashtriya Ekta Diwas) National |
| NOVEMBER 2026 | |
| 01 Nov | World Vegan Day; Kerala Piravi; Karnataka Rajyotsava |
| 05 Nov | World Tsunami Awareness Day UN; Rama Ekadashi |
| 07 Nov | National Cancer Awareness Day; Infant Protection Day |
| 08 Nov | Diwali (Deepavali) Gazetted; World Radiography Day |
| 09 Nov | Legal Services Day; Uttarakhand Foundation Day |
| 11 Nov | National Education Day; Bhai Dooj |
| 14 Nov | Children’s Day (India); World Diabetes Day |
| 15 Nov | Chhath Puja; Janjatiya Gaurav Divas |
| 19 Nov | World Toilet Day UN; International Men’s Day |
| 20 Nov | World Children’s Day UN; Devutthana Ekadashi |
| 21 Nov | World Television Day UN; World Fisheries Day |
| 24 Nov | Guru Nanak’s Birthday Gazetted |
| 26 Nov | Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas); National Milk Day |
| DECEMBER 2026 | |
| 01 Dec | World AIDS Day UN; Nagaland Statehood Day |
| 02 Dec | National Pollution Control Day; International Day for the Abolition of Slavery |
| 03 Dec | International Day of Persons with Disabilities UN; World Conservation Day |
| 04 Dec | Indian Navy Day; Utpanna Ekadashi |
| 05 Dec | World Soil Day UN; International Volunteer Day |
| 07 Dec | Armed Forces Flag Day; International Civil Aviation Day |
| 09 Dec | International Anti‑Corruption Day UN |
| 10 Dec | Human Rights Day UN |
| 11 Dec | UNICEF Day; International Mountain Day |
| 14 Dec | National Energy Conservation Day |
| 16 Dec | Vijay Diwas (Victory Day) |
| 18 Dec | International Migrants Day UN; Minorities Rights Day (India) |
| 20 Dec | International Human Solidarity Day UN; Mokshada Ekadashi |
| 22 Dec | National Mathematics Day |
| 23 Dec | Kisan Diwas (Farmers’ Day) |
| 24 Dec | National Consumer Day |
| 25 Dec | Christmas Day Gazetted; Good Governance Day |
Traditional Lunar Cycle Information
While specific Ekadashi dates have been integrated into the chronological list above, the following lunar events occur monthly in 2026. Their Gregorian dates are determined by the Panchang and shift annually:
- Ekadashi (24 occurrences): Significant fasting days on the 11th lunar day. Notable dates include Shattila (14 Jan), Nirjala (25 Jun), and Devutthana (20 Nov).
- Poornima (12 occurrences): Full moon days, often marking major festivals like Buddha Purnima (1 May) and Guru Nanak Jayanti (24 Nov).
- Pradosh Vrat: Observed twice a month on the 13th day of each lunar fortnight, dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Official Year Designation: The United Nations has officially proclaimed 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development.