section_path: Abstract
section_name: Abstract
paragraph_text: Vikram Samvat (ISO: Vikrama Saṁvata; abbreviated VS), also known as the Vikrami calendar is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent and still also used in several Indian states and Nepal. It is a lunisolar calendar, using twelve to thirteen lunar months each solar sidereal years. The year count of the Vikram Samvat calendar is usually 57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar, except during January to April, when it is ahead by 56 years.
  
  Vikram Samvat is an official calendar of Nepal. And unlike India where it is used only for religious dates, the solar version of Vikram Samvat is an official calendar used for everything from school sessions to legal contracts to any official functions.