UPSC Prelims Strategy
Do not just memorize the date. Focus on:
- Why is it celebrated? (e.g., Science Day for Raman Effect).
- Who is the organizing body? (e.g., WHO, UN, UNESCO).
- Theme: Current year's theme is often asked in current affairs.
Month-wise Important Dates
January
- January 1: Global Family Day
- January 4: World Braille Day (Birth of Louis Braille)
- January 9: Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (NRI Day)
Significance: Marks Mahatma Gandhi's return from South Africa to Mumbai in 1915. - January 10: World Hindi Day; World Laughter Day
- January 12: National Youth Day
Significance: Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. - January 15: Army Day
Significance: K.M. Cariappa took over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army in 1949. - January 24: National Girl Child Day
- January 25: National Voters' Day
Significance: Foundation day of the Election Commission of India (1950). - January 26: Republic Day; International Customs Day
- January 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day
- January 30: Martyrs' Day (Shaheed Diwas)
Significance: Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi; World Leprosy Eradication Day.
February
- February 2: World Wetlands Day (Ramsar Convention signed in 1971)
- February 4: World Cancer Day
- February 13: World Radio Day; National Women's Day (Sarojini Naidu's Birthday)
- February 20: World Day of Social Justice
- February 21: International Mother Language Day
- February 24: Central Excise Day
- February 28: National Science Day
Significance: Commemorates the discovery of the 'Raman Effect' by C.V. Raman.
March
- March 3: World Wildlife Day
- March 8: International Women's Day
- March 15: World Consumer Rights Day
- March 20: International Day of Happiness; World Sparrow Day
- March 21: World Forestry Day
- March 22: World Water Day
- March 23: World Meteorological Day; Shaheed Diwas (Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev martyrdom)
- March 24: World TB Day (Discovery of TB bacillus by Dr. Robert Koch)
April
- April 5: National Maritime Day
- April 7: World Health Day (Founding of WHO in 1948)
- April 18: World Heritage Day
- April 21: Civil Services Day
Significance: Sardar Patel addressed the first batch of probationers in 1947. - April 22: Earth Day (Focus on climate action)
- April 24: National Panchayati Raj Day (73rd Amendment Act came into force)
- April 25: World Malaria Day
- April 26: World Intellectual Property Day
May
- May 1: International Labour Day (May Day)
- May 3: World Press Freedom Day
- May 8: World Red Cross Day
- May 11: National Technology Day
Significance: Anniversary of Pokhran-II nuclear tests (Operation Shakti) in 1998. - May 12: International Nurses Day (Florence Nightingale's Birthday)
- May 21: Anti-Terrorism Day (Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi)
- May 22: International Day for Biological Diversity
- May 31: World No Tobacco Day
June
- June 5: World Environment Day
- June 8: World Oceans Day
- June 12: World Day Against Child Labour
- June 14: World Blood Donor Day
- June 20: World Refugee Day
- June 21: International Day of Yoga (Summer Solstice)
- June 29: National Statistics Day (Birthday of P.C. Mahalanobis)
July
- July 1: Doctor’s Day (Birthday of Dr. B.C. Roy); GST Day
- July 11: World Population Day
- July 12: Malala Day
- July 18: Nelson Mandela International Day
- July 26: Kargil Vijay Diwas
- July 29: International Tiger Day
August
- August 6: Hiroshima Day
- August 7: National Handloom Day (Swadeshi Movement launched in 1905)
- August 9: Quit India Day; Nagasaki Day; International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
- August 12: International Youth Day; World Elephant Day
- August 15: Independence Day
- August 29: National Sports Day
Significance: Birthday of Major Dhyan Chand.
September
- September 5: Teachers’ Day (Dr. S. Radhakrishnan's Birthday)
- September 8: International Literacy Day
- September 14: Hindi Diwas
Significance: Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi as the official language in 1949. - September 15: Engineers' Day (M. Visvesvaraya's Birthday); International Day of Democracy
- September 16: World Ozone Day (Montreal Protocol signed in 1987)
- September 21: International Day of Peace
- September 27: World Tourism Day
October
- October 2: Gandhi Jayanti; International Day of Non-Violence
- October 5: World Teachers' Day
- October 8: Indian Air Force Day
- October 16: World Food Day (Founding of FAO)
- October 24: United Nations Day (UN Charter came into force in 1945)
- October 31: National Unity Day (Rashtriya Ekta Diwas)
Significance: Birth Anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
November
- November 9: National Legal Services Day
- November 11: National Education Day (Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's Birthday)
- November 14: Children’s Day (Nehru's Birthday); World Diabetes Day
- November 15: Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (Birsa Munda's Birthday)
- November 26: Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas)
Significance: Adoption of the Constitution in 1949.
December
- December 1: World AIDS Day
- December 4: Indian Navy Day
- December 5: World Soil Day
- December 10: Human Rights Day (UDHR adopted in 1948)
- December 16: Vijay Diwas (1971 War Victory)
- December 23: Kisan Diwas (Chaudhary Charan Singh's Birthday)
- December 25: Good Governance Day
Significance: Birth Anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Variable Dates (No Fixed Date)
- Mother's Day: 2nd Sunday of May
- Father’s Day: 3rd Sunday of June
- World Sight Day: 2nd Thursday of October
- World Habitat Day: 1st Monday of October