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In the eleventh month of the year, if you have to go to the bank branch and complete important financial work like check clearance, opening a new account, making a draft or KYC update, then definitely check the complete list of holidays before leaving home. According to the calendar released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in November, work in banks will be affected for about 13 to 16 days including national, regional festivals and weekly holidays in different states and circles of the country. This does not at all mean that all banks across the country will remain closed for so many days simultaneously, because banking holidays are decided state-wise under the Negotiable Instruments Act. In some cities, there is a local holiday on a particular festival, while in other states regular banking operates as usual on that day. However, all public and private sector banks across the country will remain completely closed on 5 Sundays (1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 November) as well as on the second Saturday (November 14) and fourth Saturday (November 28) of the month. Due to the festive season, there are going to be long holidays in North India, East India and North-Eastern states.
As per the rules laid down by RBI, all the scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks (RRBs) and co-operative banks of the country remain compulsorily closed on every Sunday except the second and fourth Saturday. In November, Sundays fall on 1 November, 8 November, 15 November, 22 November and 29 November. Apart from this, there will be a nationwide holiday due to 14th November being the second Saturday and 28th November being the fourth Saturday. Bank branches will remain open like normal days on the first, third and fifth Saturdays. Apart from these 7 mandatory days of Sunday and Saturday, banks will be kept closed on additional days based on traditional festivals celebrated in different states.
In terms of festivals, many important dates are falling since the beginning of November. November 1 is a special day of Karnataka Rajyotsav, Haryana Day and Madhya Pradesh Foundation Day along with Sunday, due to which there will be a special holiday atmosphere in Karnataka and Bengaluru circles. The main festivals of Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) and Kali Puja are falling on Sunday, 8th November. Next day on November 9 (Monday), banks will remain closed in Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi as well as Jaipur, Bhopal, Gangtok, Agartala and Chandigarh of Uttar Pradesh on the occasion of Govardhan Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Bali Pratipada and Vishwakarma Day. On November 10 (Tuesday), holiday will be declared in Ahmedabad, Surat of Gujarat and Mumbai, Nagpur, Belapur and Karnataka of Maharashtra on the occasion of Vikram Samvat New Year and Bali Pratipada. On November 11 (Wednesday), shutters of bank branches will not open in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur on the occasion of Bhai Dooj, Bhratri Dwitiya, Chitragupta Jayanti and Ningol Chakkouba. Sikkim will see a long four-day long Diwali holiday from 8th to 11th November. Banks will remain closed in Shillong Circle of Meghalaya on the occasion of Wangala Festival on November 13 (Friday). There will be a weekly holiday of second Saturday on 14th November and Sunday on 15th November. On November 16 (Monday), due to the great festival of folk faith, Chhath Puja (Morning Usha Arghya/Surya Shashthi), there will be a holiday in all the banks of Bihar (Patna) and Jharkhand (Ranchi), due to which it is becoming a long weekend of bank closure for three consecutive days from 14 to 16 November. On November 20 (Friday), there will be a local holiday in the banks of Dehradun circle due to Igas-Bagwal folk festival in Uttarakhand. On November 23 (Monday), business will remain closed in Shillong due to Seng Kut Snem festival. On the occasion of Prakash Parv of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji (Guru Nanak Jayanti/Karthik Purnima/Rhas Purnima) on 24th November (Tuesday), there will be a national holiday for banks in most of the major states of the country like Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana. After this, banks will remain closed in Bengaluru and other cities of Karnataka on the occasion of Kanakadas Jayanti on 27th November (Friday). After the holiday of 27th November, there will be a long bank holiday of three consecutive days in Karnataka due to the fourth Saturday on 28th November and Sunday on 29th November.
The month of November is full of holidays in Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Kanpur, Noida, Ghaziabad, Varanasi) and Delhi-NCR. Diwali is on Sunday, 8th November. Immediately after this, there will be bank holiday in all the districts of Uttar Pradesh on Govardhan Puja on 9th November and Bhai Dooj on 11th November. In between, there will be only normal working day on 10th November, due to which many employees are taking leave for 4 to 5 days. Immediately after this, there is a closure of 14 November (second Saturday) and 15 November (Sunday). After this, banks of Lucknow, Kanpur and Delhi will remain completely closed on Guru Nanak Jayanti and Kartik Purnima on 24th November. In such a situation, if you want to get a big government draft made, operate a locker or deposit a large amount of cash, then it would be wise to contact your nearest bank branch before these holidays.
In Bihar and Jharkhand, the festival of Chhath Puja is considered to be the biggest celebration socially and culturally. During this period, its direct impact will be visible on banking services also. The second Saturday is on 14th November and Sunday is on 15th November, on which the first evening Arghya of Chhath Puja will be offered. On November 16 (Monday), the second Arghya will be offered to the rising Sun and Parana will take place, on which day the entire Bihar and Jharkhand, including Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Ranchi and Jamshedpur, has been declared a bank holiday by the RBI under the Negotiable Instruments Act. In this way, branches will remain completely closed for three consecutive days on 14, 15 and 16 November. Apart from this, banks of Patna and Ranchi will remain closed on 24th November on Guru Nanak Jayanti and Kartik Purnima.
In Western India i.e. Maharashtra and Gujarat, after Diwali, Vikram Samvat New Year and Bali Pratipada have utmost importance. Banks will remain closed on November 10 in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Rajkot. There may be partial or complete holiday in many private and cooperative banks in Gujarat on Bhai Dooj (November 11). In South Indian states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Chhath Puja or Bhai Dooj holidays are not applicable, but banks will remain closed in many centers on November 24 on Guru Nanak Jayanti and Kartik Purnima. It is becoming a long three-day long weekend in Karnataka especially on 27th November (Kanakadas Jayanti), 28th November (4th Saturday) and 29th November (Sunday).
The closure of bank branches does not at all mean that common citizens will not be able to conduct financial transactions. In the present digital age, modern payment gateways of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Reserve Bank of India work uninterrupted 24×7 even during holidays. You can send money to anyone instantly or make merchant payments through UPI apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm or BHIM. Online transfer services of IMPS, NEFT and RTGS will remain operational through net banking and mobile banking. Apart from this, ATMs and Cash Deposit Machines (CDM) will remain open in case of immediate need of cash.
If branches remain closed for two or three consecutive days, the possibility of cash-out in ATMs in local markets and residential colonies increases. So if you need hard cash for festive shopping, withdraw the required cash before the holidays begin. Apart from this, the process of check clearance and draft is directly affected. Checks deposited during bank branches and clearinghouses are closed are processed on the next business day. If the auto-debit date of any of your EMIs, credit card bills or SIPs falls between these holidays, then maintain sufficient balance in your bank account in advance so that you do not have to face bounce charges or late penalties. Before visiting any bank branch, visit the official website of RBI (rbi.org.in) and check the exact holiday list of your state and city.