🇮🇳 Marketing calendar for India

India at a glance

1,419,316,933 people · ♂ 51% / ♀ 49% · median age 30.1 · urban 36.4%

How touchy is the topic here

Basis: curated for this market. Local legal review still wins.

What is coming in India

Everything ahead, in order — what to avoid, what to handle carefully and what is worth showing up for — the next twelve months, from 25 July 2026. The app carries the same data through 2030.

August 2026

• Opportunity Back-to-school season
  1 August 2026 – 10 September 2026

  The second-biggest retail season of the year in most Western markets. Timing varies: mid-July to August in the US, late August in Europe, 1 September in CEE, and January in the southern hemisphere.

  • Do not run the northern calendar in AU/ZA/AR — their school year starts in January
  • In Russia and Ukraine, keep 1 September creative sober (see the Beslan entry)
  • Start earlier than feels right — US search demand peaks in July
  • Bundle and subscription offers convert better than single-item discounts
• Opportunity Independence Day
  15 August 2026

  Major patriotic and retail moment; Freedom Sale campaigns are standard across ecommerce.

  Greeting: “Happy Independence Day”

  • Same Flag Code rules apply
  • Sale framing is accepted here, unlike Republic Day
• Day off ☪ Mawlid al-Nabi (Prophet's Birthday) ±1d
  25 August 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Opportunity 🕉 Onam
  26 August 2026

  Festive commercial peak — localise the creative, do not reuse a global asset.

• Day off Milad un-Nabi (tentative)
  26 August 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Opportunity 🕉 Raksha Bandhan ±1d
  28 August 2026

  Sibling gifting festival — a significant ecommerce and courier peak in the north.

  Greeting: “Happy Raksha Bandhan”

  • Do not over-index on jewellery clichés
  • Gifting + same-day delivery is the whole play
  • Sibling framing beyond brother/sister norms is increasingly used

September 2026

• Opportunity 🕉 Krishna Janmashtami ±1d
  4 September 2026

  Gazetted holiday celebrating Krishna's birth; dahi handi events in Maharashtra.

  Greeting: “Happy Janmashtami”

  • No deity imagery on disposables
  • Dairy, sweets and family creative fit naturally
• Opportunity 🕉 Ganesh Chaturthi ±1d
  14 September 2026

  Ten-day festival, biggest in Maharashtra and the south. Strong consumer moment in Mumbai and Pune.

  Greeting: “Ganpati Bappa Morya”

  • Do not place deity imagery on products, footwear or packaging
  • Localise to Maharashtra/Karnataka; Marathi copy performs

October 2026

• Caution Gandhi Jayanti (dry day)
  2 October 2026

  National holiday and a nationwide dry day — alcohol sales are prohibited, as they are on Republic Day and Independence Day.

  • Do not use Gandhi's image to sell anything
• Caution World Mental Health Day
  10 October 2026

  Safe to participate only with substance: employee provision, funded partnerships, or accessible resources.

  • No 'take a bath, you deserve it' brand wellness content
  • Do not attach a promo code
• Opportunity 🕉 Navratri & Dussehra ±1d
  11 October 2026 – 20 October 2026

  Nine nights of festivities ending in Dussehra — the official start of the Indian festive shopping season. Auto, appliance and gold purchases are traditionally timed to it.

  Greeting: “Happy Dussehra”

  • Do not run one pan-India creative for all regions
  • Launch the festive campaign here, not at Diwali
  • Regional variation is huge: Durga Puja in the east, Garba in the west
• Day off 🕉 First Day of Sharad Navratri
  11 October 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off ✝ First Day of Durga Puja Festivities
  17 October 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off Maha Saptami
  18 October 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off Maha Ashtami
  19 October 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off 🕉 Dussehra
  20 October 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti
  26 October 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off Karaka Chaturthi
  29 October 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

November 2026

• Opportunity 🕉 Diwali ±1d
  8 November 2026

  The commercial peak of the Indian year — the festive season from Navratri through Diwali carries a huge share of annual consumer spend.

  Greeting: “Happy Diwali / शुभ दीपावली”

  • Avoid firecracker imagery — several cities ban them over air quality
  • Do not mix religious iconography with discount creative
  • Start the festive campaign at Navratri, weeks ahead
  • Gold, appliances, autos and apparel peak; gifting is business-to-business too
• Day off Naraka Chaturdasi
  8 November 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off Govardhan Puja
  9 November 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off Bhai Duj
  11 November 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off Chhat Puja (Pratihar Sashthi/Surya Sashthi)
  15 November 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Opportunity ☬ Guru Nanak Jayanti ±1d
  24 November 2026

  Gazetted holiday; the principal Sikh festival, biggest in Punjab and Delhi.

  Greeting: “Happy Gurpurab”

  • Do not use the Khanda or Guru imagery commercially
  • Community and langar (free-kitchen) themes are the culturally native angle
• Avoid Guru Tegh Bahadur's Martyrdom Day
  24 November 2026

  Solemn commemoration — commemorative tone only, no offers.

• Avoid 26/11 Mumbai attacks anniversary
  26 November 2026

  The 2008 attacks. Commemorated nationally, most intensely in Mumbai — and it now collides with Black Friday week.

  • No hotel, siege or 'under attack' framing in Indian copy
• Opportunity Black Friday
  27 November 2026

  The global discount peak, now a two-week event in most markets. In the Gulf it is marketed as White Friday; Mexico runs El Buen Fin the week before.

  • Do not invent a fake original price — enforcement is active in DE/FR/PL
  • Do not launch anything unrelated the same week; it will be invisible
  • Lock creative and landing pages a week early — traffic spikes break things
  • Price-history rules apply in the EU (reference price = lowest in 30 days)

December 2026

• Day off Hazarat Ali's Birthday
  23 December 2026

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Opportunity ✝ Christmas Eve
  24 December 2026

  Gifting and clearance peak — publish shipping cut-offs early.

• Opportunity ✝ Christmas Day
  25 December 2026

  The commercial anchor of Q4 in Christian-majority markets. Not a mainstream frame in SA, and secular/muted in JP (couples' date night), CN, IL and TR.

  Greeting: “Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays”

  • Do not run Christmas creative into Saudi mainstream media
  • Do not assume 25 Dec is the gifting day — it is 6 Jan in parts of ES/MX/IT
  • Publish shipping cut-offs early and repeat them
  • Switch to 'holiday' framing for global sends
• Caution Indian Ocean tsunami anniversary
  26 December 2026

  The 2004 tsunami killed around 230,000 people across the region — Aceh worst of all, with large tolls among Swedish and other tourists. It lands on Boxing Day.

  • No wave or 'tidal' imagery in affected markets

January 2027

• Opportunity New Year's Day
  1 January 2027

  Universal, but the emotional weight differs: in Russia and Ukraine it outranks Christmas; in Japan it is the main family holiday of the year.

  Greeting: “Happy New Year”

  • Avoid resolution-shaming and body-related January creative
  • Ship the 'new year, new plan' offer in the first working week, not on the day itself
• Opportunity 🕉 Pongal / Makar Sankranti
  14 January 2027 – 17 January 2027

  Harvest festival celebrated under different names across states — Pongal (TN), Makar Sankranti (west/north), Lohri (Punjab, 13 Jan), Bihu (Assam).

  Greeting: “Happy Pongal / Makar Sankranti”

  • Do not label the whole thing 'Makar Sankranti' in Tamil Nadu
  • Use the right regional name per state — getting it wrong is the classic outsider error
• Opportunity 🕉 Pongal
  15 January 2027

  Festive commercial peak — localise the creative, do not reuse a global asset.

• Day off 🕉 Makar Sankranti
  15 January 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Caution Republic Day
  26 January 2027

  Solemn-patriotic rather than festive. Flag use in India is governed by the Flag Code — printing it on merchandise or napkins is an offence.

  • Never print the tricolour on products, packaging or disposables
  • No 'Republic Day sale' on the flag itself
• Avoid International Holocaust Remembrance Day
  27 January 2027

  UN-designated day marking the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Institutions, media and most large brands post commemorative content only — or nothing at all.

  • Never attach a product, discount or hashtag campaign to it
  • No stock imagery of camps, no stylised typography

February 2027

• Caution ☪ Ramadan ±1d
  8 February 2027 – 8 March 2027

  A month of daytime fasting that inverts the media day: consumption peaks after iftar and late at night. Commercially it is the biggest season of the year in the Gulf, Türkiye and Indonesia — but daytime tone stays restrained.

  • No food or drink imagery in daytime creative
  • Do not schedule launches or hard-sell B2B outreach during working hours
• Day off ☪ Ramadan Start (tentative)
  9 February 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off Vasant Panchami
  11 February 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Opportunity Valentine's Day
  14 February 2027

  Major gifting peak in Western markets; in Japan and Korea women give chocolate and the reciprocal White Day (14 Mar) is the second wave. Not observed — and in some markets discouraged — in SA, and low-key in ID.

  Greeting: “Happy Valentine's Day”

  • Do not run it in Saudi Arabia as a mainstream campaign
  • Avoid couple-only framing; single/friendship angles perform
  • Offer an opt-out from Valentine emails — now standard practice and it reduces unsubscribes
  • Ship gifting cut-off dates prominently
• Day off Shivaji Jayanti
  19 February 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

March 2027

• Day off 🕉 Maha Shivaratri
  6 March 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Caution International Women's Day
  8 March 2027

  A commercial gifting holiday in some markets (RU, IT, parts of CEE) and a political/labour day in others. In the UK the Gender Pay Gap Bot reliably humiliates brands that post platitudes.

  • No pink-washed discount codes on 'women's products'
  • Do not post if your own numbers would embarrass you
• Opportunity ☪ Eid al-Fitr ±1d
  9 March 2027

  The celebration that closes Ramadan — a gifting, travel and new-clothes peak. Exact date depends on moon sighting and can shift by a day per country.

  Greeting: “Eid Mubarak”

  • Do not send anything that assumes the wrong day
  • Avoid alcohol adjacency in any Eid creative
  • Have both possible dates ready in the campaign calendar
  • 'Eid Mubarak' greetings are welcome from brands
• Day off Ramzan Id (tentative)
  10 March 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Opportunity 🕉 Holi ±1d
  22 March 2027

  Colour festival; strong for consumer creative, but the day itself is a near-total shutdown of work.

  Greeting: “Happy Holi”

  • Do not schedule meetings, launches or sends that day
  • Colour-led creative works; local-language versions matter
• Caution ✝ Good Friday (India)
  26 March 2027

  Gazetted holiday; significant in Kerala, Goa and the north-east.

  • No celebratory framing

April 2027

• Caution April Fools' Day
  1 April 2027

  The classic brand-prank day. Payoff has collapsed while the downside — fake product announcements that get picked up as real news — has not.

  • No fake outages, fake recalls, fake price changes or fake acquisitions
  • Never run pranks in markets where the date is not a tradition (most of MENA, Asia)
• Day off 🕉 Ugadi
  7 April 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Day off Gudi Padwa
  7 April 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Caution Ambedkar Jayanti
  14 April 2027

  Birth anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar, architect of the Indian constitution and a central figure for Dalit communities. Gazetted holiday.

  • Do not use his image to sell products
  • Avoid caste-adjacent humour year-round
• Day off Rama Navami
  15 April 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

• Caution Earth Day
  22 April 2027

  Peak greenwashing-scrutiny day. EU markets now have legal exposure: unsubstantiated environmental claims are enforceable under consumer law.

  • No vague 'eco', 'carbon neutral', 'planet positive' claims without methodology
  • Do not run a Earth Day sale on disposable goods

May 2027

• Opportunity Mother's Day
  9 May 2027

  The second-largest gifting day of the year in most of these markets — flowers, jewellery, restaurants, delivery. Note that the date is NOT global: the UK, France, Spain, Mexico, Poland, Russia and Argentina all use different days.

  Greeting: “Happy Mother's Day”

  • Do not send one Mother's Day campaign to a global list — you will be a month early or late in half of it
  • Avoid 'every mum wants…' framing; gifting is increasingly for any caregiver
  • Offer an opt-out from Mother's Day emails — the standard of care since 2019, and it lowers unsubscribes
  • Publish delivery cut-offs; flowers and cake logistics sell out days ahead
  • Segment out anyone who opted out last year
• Opportunity ☪ Eid al-Adha ±1d
  16 May 2027

  The second Eid, tied to the Hajj. Long public holidays across the Gulf; a major travel and food period in Türkiye (Kurban Bayramı) and Indonesia.

  Greeting: “Eid Mubarak”

  • Do not use livestock imagery casually in Western-facing creative
  • Do not expect B2B replies for the whole week
  • Plan for multi-day office closures across MENA
  • Charity and sharing angles are culturally native here
• Day off Bakrid (tentative)
  17 May 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

June 2027

• Caution ☪ Ashura ±1d
  15 June 2027

  A day of mourning for Shia Muslims (and a fast day for many Sunnis). Processions in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Bahrain and parts of India and Pakistan.

  • No celebratory or festive creative
  • Do not use mourning imagery commercially
• Caution ☪ Muharram/Ashura (tentative)
  16 June 2027

  Solemn religious observance — keep tone quiet.

• Opportunity Father's Day
  20 June 2027

  Third Sunday of June in most markets. Smaller basket than Mother's Day but higher conversion on electronics, tools and experiences.

  Greeting: “Happy Father's Day”

  • Do not run it in Brazil (August), Germany (Ascension Day), Italy or Spain (19 March)
  • Opt-out link, same as Mother's Day
  • Experience gifting outperforms novelty products

July 2027

• Day off Rath Yatra
  5 July 2027

  Public holiday — offices closed, B2B reach drops, consumer traffic shifts to mobile.

What not to touch in India

Numbers

• Avoid using 'Mandal', '1984', '2002' or '26/11' as campaign shorthand.

Colours

• Saffron vs green as a colour pairing reads as Hindu-Muslim politics.
• White is a mourning colour in much of the country.

Symbols

• The tricolour on products, packaging or disposables breaches the Flag Code.
• Deities on footwear, seats, swimwear or anything that touches the ground.
• Cows and beef in food creative.

Themes

• Caste, communal politics, Kashmir and Pakistan.
• Alcohol promotion on dry days; surrogate advertising is under scrutiny.

What already went wrong here

• Cadbury India — One Diwali film, thousands of local shops 2021
• Amul — Sixty years of drawing the news by Friday 1966
• Google India — Two friends separated by Partition, reunited by search 2013

Other markets

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