"Add Indian Holidays"
“Strengthen IN Holidays”
Created on 18th January 2026
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"Add Indian Holidays"
“Strengthen IN Holidays”
The problem "Add Indian Holidays" solves
This project ensures the Indian (IN) holiday dataset is accurate and complete from 2010 onwards, covering both gazetted and reserved holidays. It supports applications that rely on correct holiday data such as payroll systems, attendance tracking, scheduling tools, and booking platforms.
How It Improves Existing Workflows
- Accurate Automation
Verified holiday data from official sources prevents incorrect calculations in time-sensitive systems. - Lower Maintenance Effort
Developers can rely on a standardized dataset instead of manually maintaining holiday lists. - Reduced Risk of Errors
Proper handling of variable-date holidays improves reliability and prevents production issues.
Scope of My WOC Contribution
- Research and validate Indian holidays 2010 onwards using official government sources
- Add missing variable-date reserved holidays
- Ensure test coverage for long-term maintainability
This work aligns with Winter of Code goals by strengthening data reliability, improving documentation, and making the project easier to maintain and extend for future contributors.
Proposal link:
Project Notes / Documentation (view-only):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XmsSiXpElMzLyEBnppIQyOj5O_s5MgXa/view
Challenges I ran into
One of the main challenges was identifying reliable official sources for Indian holidays. Since holidays vary by year and type (gazetted vs. reserved), information was scattered across multiple government notifications and documents. To overcome this, I cross-verified data from official government portals and consolidated only authoritative sources before making any updates.
Another hurdle was understanding the existing india.py structure and determining which holidays were already marked as gazetted or reserved. I carefully reviewed the entire file year by year to identify inconsistencies and missing entries.
Handling variable-date holidays was also challenging, as their dates change every year. To manage this efficiently, I created Excel sheets to track:
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Gazetted vs. reserved holidays
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Year-wise date variations
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Missing or inconsistent entries
Maintaining these structured records helped me validate changes, avoid duplication, and ensure accuracy before updating the codebase.
Links for Resources:
Official Resources Document (view-only):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QEgtvrCY-gzz9joYYClKcannR6RYpoeoOWcTnE16rvc/view
Link for Excel:
Holiday Tracking Sheet (view-only):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16F89Bivwm_rxDi1X_vMZMQJGfkXCPATr0kwPHxwc6cM/view