NEW DELHI - The Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi has declared September 11, 2026, a Friday, as a public holiday for all government offices, autonomous bodies and public sector undertakings functioning under it, in view of the 18th BRICS Summit and the arrangements connected with it. The declaration comes a day before India formally opens its hosting of the summit at Bharat Mandapam.
What the Official Notification States
According to the notification issued by the General Administration Department, Co-ordination Branch, of the Delhi Secretariat, the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi has declared September 11, 2026, to be a holiday in all Government Offices, Autonomous Bodies and Public Sector Undertakings under the Government of the NCT of Delhi. The order carries the file number 53/868/GAD/CN/2026/5235-5277 and is dated September 3, 2026. It has been issued by order and in the name of the Lieutenant Governor and signed by Pradeep Tayal, Joint Secretary (GAD). The notification is marked for publication in the Delhi Gazette, Part-IV (Extraordinary), the format used for administrative orders that need immediate legal effect.
Copies of the notification have been forwarded for information and necessary action to 43 offices and officials, reflecting how many arms of Delhi's administration are involved in preparations connected to the summit. The distribution list includes the Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretaries to the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Secretary to the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Department of Economic Affairs under the Union Ministry of Finance. It also extends to the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Registrar of the Delhi High Court, Delhi University, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, the Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University, Delhi Transco Limited, the Delhi Transport Corporation, the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, several statutory commissions including the Delhi Commission for Women and the Delhi Child Rights Protection Commission, and financial institutions including the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of India's local head office. Copies have also been directed to be issued in both English and Hindi through the Directorate of Printing.
Why the Holiday Has Been Declared: The 18th BRICS Summit
The holiday has been announced specifically in view of the 18th BRICS Summit and the arrangements connected with it. India is hosting the summit under its 2026 BRICS Chairship, which it assumed on January 1, 2026, succeeding Brazil. This marks the fourth time India has chaired the grouping, having previously hosted summits in 2012, 2016 and 2021. The summit is scheduled to take place over two days, September 12 and 13, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam, the international convention and exhibition centre at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, meaning the declared holiday falls on the day immediately preceding the leaders' meeting.
This year's summit is being held under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability," and is expected to bring together heads of state and government from BRICS member and partner countries, along with outreach invitees. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been confirmed to attend by the Kremlin. According to a Reuters report published August 24, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping was also expected to attend, which would mark his first visit to India since 2019, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has also been listed among the leaders expected in New Delhi. The agenda is expected to cover local-currency trade among member nations, food and energy security, and reform of global multilateral institutions, alongside discussions on priorities of the Global South.
The Scale of India's BRICS Chairship This Year
The summit represents the culmination of a year of diplomatic activity under India's chairship. According to an official statement from the Embassy of India in Riyadh, more than 350 meetings and high-level engagements have been held across over 25 cities in India through 2026, spanning political and security cooperation, economic and financial matters, and cultural and people to people exchanges. The 2026 gathering also marks twenty years since BRICS was established. The grouping traces back to July 2006, when leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China first met on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in St. Petersburg, before formally organising as BRIC that September in New York. The first full summit followed in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in June 2009, and the grouping expanded to include South Africa in 2010–2011, becoming BRICS. The bloc has since grown further, with reports describing this year's summit as bringing together an expanded grouping of member and partner nations.
The declared holiday applies to government offices, autonomous bodies and public sector undertakings functioning under the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, rather than being a universal holiday for private establishments across the city. Given the extensive list of departments, commissions, universities, civic bodies and financial institutions to which the order has been circulated, the holiday covers a large share of Delhi's public administrative machinery for the day. The notification itself does not specify the exact operational reason for choosing September 11; it states only that the holiday is "in view of the BRICS Summit and the arrangements connected therewith."
