Bank Holidays 2024: Indian banks across several cities are closed in India, due to the celebration of Vijayadashami, commonly known as Dussehra or Dasar, on October 12. However, October 12 also falls as a second Saturday, which is a holiday by default for banks, hence all banks are set to be closed today.
Check City-Wise List, Where Banks Are Closed Due To Dussehra:
As per the RBI list, banks are closed due to Dussehra (Mahashtami/Mahanavami)/Ayudha Pooja/Durga Puja (Dasain)/Durga Ashtami on Saturday, October 12.
Due to Dussehra, banks will be closed in cities like Agartala, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Gangtok, Guwahati, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Itanagar, Jammu, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Nagpur, New Delhi, Panaji, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, and Thiruvananthapuram.
Vijayadashami, more commonly known as Dussehra, and also known as Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated every year at the end of Durga Puja and Navaratri. It is observed on the tenth day of the month of Ashvin, the seventh in the Hindu lunisolar calendar. The festival typically falls in the Gregorian calendar months of September and October, as per Wikipedia.
The nine-day annual Hindu festival, Navratri has commenced from October 3 and will continue till the next week. Although Navratri is most celebrated two or four times in India, however, the most popular one is the Sharada Navaratri which is celebrated from September to October. That being said, banks will be closed during the last date of Navratri, renowned as Dussehra.
RBI's holidays are divided into three categories such as -- Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act; Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement Holidays; and Banks' Closing of Accounts. Bank holidays in India 2024, vary from state-to-state and city-to-city.
In general terms, banks are closed on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month. The fifth Saturday of a month with five Saturdays is a working day for banks. In the past, banks would only open for a half-day on Saturdays.
India is a multi-cultural and very diverse country and also has many national and other bank holidays. A bank holiday in India is generally considered as a public holiday when banks and other financial institutions remain closed. While not all public holidays are classified as Bank Holidays as it varies with state and region.