Working Days in October 2026 in India

October 2026 has 31 calendar days. It includes 22 weekdays, 9 weekend days, and major holidays such as Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra.

For a standard Monday-to-Friday schedule, October 2026 has 20 working days if both Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra are treated as holidays.

However, the exact number can change by state, employer, office type, and holiday policy.

How Many Working Days Are There in October 2026?

For a Monday-to-Friday work schedule:

• Total days: 31
• Weekdays: 22
• Saturdays: 5
• Sundays: 4
• Gandhi Jayanti: October 2, Friday
• Dussehra: October 20, Tuesday
• Working days: 20

The Government of India's holiday calendar lists October 2 as Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday and October 20 as Dussehra.

A working-day calendar that includes these two central-government holidays also calculates 20 working days for October 2026.

October 2026 Working Days at a Glance

The calendar for October 2026 starts on Thursday and ends on Saturday.

October 2026 Calendar

Here is the basic October 2026 calendar:

Important October dates

• October 1, Thursday: Working day
• October 2, Friday: Gandhi Jayanti
• October 3, Saturday: Weekend
• October 4, Sunday: Weekend
• October 5 to 9: Working days
• October 10, Saturday: Weekend
• October 11, Sunday: Weekend
• October 12 to 16: Working days
• October 17, Saturday: Weekend
• October 18, Sunday: Weekend
• October 19, Monday: Working day
• October 20, Tuesday: Dussehra
• October 21 to 23: Working days
• October 24, Saturday: Weekend
• October 25, Sunday: Weekend
• October 26 to 30: Working days
• October 31, Saturday: Weekend

October 2026 Holidays in India

Two major national or central-government holidays fall on weekdays during October 2026.

1. Gandhi Jayanti

Date: Friday, October 2, 2026

Gandhi Jayanti marks the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. October 2 is listed as an all-India holiday by India Post and appears in the Government of India's central holiday calendar.

Because October 2 falls on a Friday, it reduces the number of Monday-to-Friday working days by one.

2. Dussehra

Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Dussehra, also called Vijayadashami, falls on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. India Post lists Dussehra as an all-India holiday for 2026.

Many schools, offices and institutions may close for Dussehra, although the exact holiday arrangement can depend on the state and organization.

Are There 20 or 21 Working Days in October 2026?

You may see both numbers online. The difference comes from the holiday rules used for the calculation.

20 working days

You get 20 working days when you start with 22 Monday-to-Friday weekdays and remove:

• October 2, Gandhi Jayanti
• October 20, Dussehra

22 − 2 = 20 working days

This is a useful figure for a calendar based on the central-government holiday schedule.

21 working days

Some working-day calculators count only Gandhi Jayanti as a nationwide public holiday for their standard calculation and exclude regional or institution-specific holidays. That produces 21 working days.

This is why you should check your employer's holiday calendar before using the number for payroll, attendance or salary calculations.

Working Days in October 2026 for a Monday-to-Friday Job

If your company operates five days a week and observes both October 2 and October 20 as holidays, your schedule looks like this:

What About Saturdays?

Saturdays require a separate calculation.

Some companies follow a Monday-to-Friday schedule. Others operate on:

• Monday to Saturday
• Alternate Saturdays
• First and third Saturdays
• Second and fourth Saturdays
• Six-day working weeks

So you should not automatically treat every Saturday as a holiday.

For example, if an employee works every Saturday except Sundays and two weekday holidays, the working-day count will be different from a Monday-to-Friday schedule.

Working Days for Banks in October 2026

Bank holidays follow a separate schedule and can vary by state.

October 2026 includes several bank holidays connected with festivals and regional observances. Some dates apply only to particular states or regions.

For banking work, use the RBI holiday schedule for the relevant state or bank branch instead of using the general 20-working-day figure.

Online banking, UPI and other digital services may continue to operate even when a physical bank branch is closed.

Working Days for Government Offices

Central government offices generally follow the applicable central-government holiday calendar.

For October 2026, the two major weekday holidays listed in the central calendar are:

• October 2, Gandhi Jayanti
• October 20, Dussehra

This gives 20 working days under the Monday-to-Friday calculation shown above.

State government offices can have additional holidays based on their respective state holiday calendars.

Working Days for Schools and Colleges

School and college holidays can be different from office holidays.

Dussehra is observed on October 20, 2026, but the length of the school break can vary by state and institution. Some schools may have additional holidays around Navratri or Dussehra.

Students and parents should therefore check their school's official academic calendar.

How to Calculate Working Days in October 2026

You can calculate working days with a simple formula:

Working Days = Total Weekdays − Weekday Holidays

For October 2026:

22 weekdays − 2 holidays = 20 working days

This calculation assumes:

• Monday to Friday is the normal workweek
• Saturday and Sunday are weekly holidays
• October 2 is a holiday
• October 20 is a holiday
• No additional state or company holidays apply

Your actual working days can be lower if your employer observes additional holidays.

How Many Working Hours Are There in October 2026?

Working hours depend on your daily working schedule.

For example, with 20 working days:

8 hours × 20 days = 160 working hours

With a 7.5-hour workday:

7.5 hours × 20 days = 150 working hours

With a 9-hour workday:

9 hours × 20 days = 180 working hours

Lunch breaks and other unpaid breaks may not count as working hours.

Use a Working Days Calculator

Calculating working days becomes more useful when your dates are different.

For example, you may want to calculate:

• Working days between two dates
• Employee attendance days
• Salary days
• Project deadlines
• Business days
• Leave periods
• Notice periods
• Payroll working days

You can use the ToolPoint Working Days Calculator to calculate working days for a selected date range.

It can be especially useful when weekends and holidays need to be excluded from the calculation.

October 2026 Working Days: Quick Answer

How many working days are there in October 2026 in India?

There are 20 working days in October 2026 when using a Monday-to-Friday schedule and excluding October 2 and October 20 as holidays.

There are 22 weekdays in the month and 9 weekend days.

The exact number can change if your company, state, school or bank follows a different holiday calendar.

First select the start and end dates. Then exclude weekends and any holidays that your organization observes. For a faster calculation, use a working-days calculator.