Rashtriya Panchang
राष्ट्रीय पंचांग
The Rashtriya Panchang is the official National Panchang of India, published annually by the Positional Astronomy Centre under the India Meteorological Department. It uses the reformed Saka calendar — adopted as India's national civil calendar on 22 March 1957 — and is the authoritative reference for festival dates, eclipses, and astronomical phenomena used by Government of India offices.
Key Facts
| Region | India (National) |
| Language | English, Hindi, Sanskrit, 11+ Indian languages |
| Publisher | Positional Astronomy Centre (PAC), India Meteorological Department, Government of India |
| Founder | Calendar Reform Committee chaired by Prof. Meghnad Saha |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Calculation | Drik (modern astronomical), Saka calendar reformed by 1955 Saha Committee |
| Website | www.imdaeronomy.gov.in |
| Where to Get | Positional Astronomy Centre, Kolkata; Controller of Publications, Civil Lines Delhi; PAC website |
Origin & Calendar Reform Committee
After Independence, the Government of India found that 30+ different regional calendars were in use across the country with no unified national reference. In November 1952, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) appointed the Calendar Reform Committee under the chairmanship of Prof. Meghnad Saha (FRS, astrophysicist), with members including N.C. Lahiri, J.S. Karandikar, and Gorakh Prasad.
The Committee submitted its report in 1955 and recommended a reformed Saka calendar based on the tropical (sayana) year with Lahiri-based astronomical corrections. The Government of India adopted the National Calendar on 22 March 1957 — the day designated as the first of Chaitra 1879 Saka.
What the Rashtriya Panchang Contains
- Daily Saka calendar dates correlated with Gregorian
- Tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana — calculated using Drik (modern astronomical) methods
- Lunar and solar eclipse predictions with regional visibility
- Sunrise/sunset, moonrise/moonset for major cities
- Festival dates (Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist) — used as official government reference
- Rashi positions of all 9 grahas (planets) for each day
- Ayana, ritu, mahina (season) markers
- Public holiday recommendations
Calculation System
The Rashtriya Panchang uses pure Drik Ganita (observational astronomy) — the same modern positional astronomy used by NASA and international ephemerides — with Lahiri (Chitra-paksha) Ayanamsa for converting tropical to sidereal positions. This makes it astronomically the most accurate panchang available in India.
Editions Published
The PAC publishes the Rashtriya Panchang in English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Bengali, Punjabi, Assamese, and Urdu — making it the most multilingual official panchang in India.
Where to Obtain
The annual edition is available from the Controller of Publications, Government of India, Civil Lines, Delhi; the Positional Astronomy Centre, Kolkata; and online through the IMD aeronomy portal. Government departments receive complimentary copies for official use.