Happy Independence Day: Banks Are Closed On August 15, What Is Working?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unfurl the tri-colour national flag on August 15, 2024, as India celebrates its 8th Independence Day from the historic Red Fort in Delhi. The theme of this year's Independence Day is 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047'. That being said, on this auspicious occasion, banks either private or public are closed.

Independence Day holiday falls under RBI's Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Both private and PSU banks will be closed on Thursday.

Hence, banking transactions such as opening an FD, transferring huge sums of money, applying for loans, submitting documents, or any other financial services that are required to visit your bank branch will not be available on August 15.

But noteworthily, all ATM services will continue to be open 24/7 across India even on August 15. These services include withdrawing cash, checking balances, or printing statements. Also, some ATM services outside banks offer options to transfer money, cash deposits in in both card-based and card-less modes, and even apply for loans.

Bank holidays in India and for that matter, the public holidays are decided by the central government, the state government and the various union territories in the country. As per RBI, bank holidays are divided into three categories. These are holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act; holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement Holidays; and banks' closing of accounts.

Independence Day is a national holiday.

On August 15, PM Modi will lead the Nation in celebrating the 78th Independence Day from the historic Red Fort in Delhi on August 15, 2024. He will unfurl the National Flag and deliver the customary address to the nation from the ramparts of the iconic monument. The theme of this year's Independence Day is 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047'.

The celebrations will serve as a platform to provide a renewed push to the Government's efforts towards transforming the country into a developed nation by 2047, as per PIB.

With the aim to increase Jan Bhagidari in this festival of national fervour, around 6,000 Special Guests have been invited to witness the celebrations at Red Fort this year. These people from different walks of life categorised as youth, tribal communities, farmers, women and other special guests, have excelled in various fields with the help of various government schemes/initiatives.

Nearly 2,000 people from various States/Union Territories dressed in traditional attire have also been invited to witness the grand ceremony. Three thousand (3,000) winners of different online competitions, organised by the Ministry of Defence in collaboration with MyGov and Akashvani, will also be part of the celebrations.

After the showering of flower petals, the Prime Minister will address the Nation. After his speech, the cadets of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) will sing the National Anthem. A total of 2,000 boy and girl cadets (Army, Navy and Air Force) from different schools across the country will participate in the celebrations. These cadets will be seated on Gyanpath, opposite the Rampart. They will be forming the 'My भारत' logo with customised tricolour kits. A total of 500 National Service Scheme (NSS) Volunteers will also take part.