How historians date ancient India — and which calendar the Indian government actually uses.
Punch-marked coins are among India's earliest coins (from around the 6th century BCE), issued by the Mahajanapadas. The Indo-Greeks introduced coins with portraits and bilingual legends, later refined by the Kushanas (notably Kanishka's gold coins) and the Guptas, whose coins are prized for their artistic quality and inscriptions that help historians reconstruct dynastic chronology.
The Saka Era (starting 78 CE) is the basis of the Indian National Calendar, officially adopted in 1957 alongside the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes. The Vikram Samvat (starting 57 BCE) is widely used in northern India for traditional/religious purposes. The Hijri calendar (Islamic lunar calendar, starting 622 CE) is used for Islamic religious observances.
The Indian National Calendar, based on the Saka Era, begins with the month Chaitra and is used alongside the Gregorian calendar in government communications, including for the President's address and All India Radio broadcasts.
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