Yugadi is the New Year's Day for the people of the Deccan region of India. The name Yugadi or Ugadi is derived from the Sanskrit words yuga (age) and adi (beginning): 'the beginning of a new age'. It falls on a different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar. The Saka calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March--April) and Ugadi marks the first day of the new year. Chaitra is the first month in Panchanga which is the Indian calendar.

While the people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh use the term Yugadi/Ugadi for this festival, the people of Maharashtra term the same festival, observed on the same day, Gudi Padwa Marwari, people of Rajasthan celebrate the same day as their new year day Thapna. Sindhis, people from Sindh, celebrate the same day as their New Year day Cheti Chand. Manipuris also celebrate their New Year (Sajibu nongma panba) on the same day. It is observed as Baisakhi in Punjab and Puthandu in Tamil Nadu. However, it is not celebrated on the same day as Yugadi in Tamil Nadu. It is also celebrated in Mauritius. Hindus of Bali and Indonesia also celebrate their new year on the same day as Nyepi. This tri-state festival could be the result of the common rulers from the Satavahana Dynasty.