October to see 21 bank holidays, including entire 1st week
October is the month of festivities, which means there will be many non-working days for banks and financial institutions. As per the holiday list released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banks could be closed for up to 21 days in October. The RBI holiday calendar includes Sundays and the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, along with national and state holidays.
Many holidays are region and state specific
The RBI prepares the holiday list for every month under three categories, namely holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act, Real Time Gross Settlement Holiday, and Banks' Closing of Accounts. Respective banks will not function on regional festivals like Durga Puja, Karwa Chauth, and Diwali, among others, which account for a total of 15 days this month.
Online services to remain active
It is notable that online facilities such as net banking and UPI services will continue to be functional, and the bank branches remaining closed will have no bearing on such facilities. The month will kick off with nine holidays straight, including Dussehra, Eid-i-Milad-ul-Nabi, and Sunday. If you have bank-related work, it is advised that you reschedule accordingly.
Some regions might see banks shut for entire week
Bank holidays in the first week of October are as follows: -October 1: Closing of bank accounts -October 2: Gandhi Jayanti/Sunday -October 3: Durga Puja (Maha Ashtami) -October 4: Durga Puja (Maha Navami)/birth anniversary of Srimanta Sankardeva -October 5: Dussehra/birth anniversary of Srimanta Sankardeva -October 6: Durga Puja (Dasain) -October 7: Durga Puja (Dasain)
Third week has most working days in October
Holidays in the second week: -October 8: Eid-i-Milad-ul-Nabi (birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed) -October 9: Second Sunday -October 13: Karwa Chauth -October 14: Friday following Eid-i-Milad-ul-Nabi Third week's bank holidays: -October 16: Third Sunday -October 18: Kati Bihu
Bihar, J'khand banks shut for Chhath Puja on October 31
National and regional holidays in the fourth week: -October 24: Kali Puja/Laxmi Puja/Diwali -October 25: Laxmi Puja/Diwali/Govardhan Puja -October 26: Govardhan Puja/Bhai Dooj -October 27: Bhai Dooj/Chitragupt Jayanti/Ningol Chakkouba -October 31: Chhath Puja/Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary Notably, a detailed list of all the bank holidays is available on the RBI's official website: https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/HolidayMatrixDisplay.aspx.
Most holidays aren't applicable for banks across India
Most of these holidays are limited to specific states/regions. For example, the Durga Puja holidays are for Agartala, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Imphal, Kolkata, Patna, and Ranchi. The Karwa Chauth holiday is only for Shimla, while the holiday on the Friday following Eid is only for Jammu and Srinagar. Diwali holidays are applicable countrywide, except in Gangtok, Hyderabad, and Imphal. Kati Bihu is only for Guwahati.
