Bank Holiday Alert: Banks will remain closed for 6 days next week, know why RBI announced holidays?

Business Desk – Bank Holiday Alert: If your account is in State Bank of India (SBI). If you have to complete some important banking related work next week, then this news is very important for you. Next week, banks will remain closed in many states of the country due to the festival of Bakrid (Eid-ul-Azha). Apart from this, State Bank of India employees have also announced a nationwide two-day strike.

If this strike happens as per schedule, then banking work in some states may come to a complete halt for six consecutive days. This also includes weekend holidays. Therefore, to avoid any kind of hassle, please immediately check the list of holidays and affected cities given below.

When are Bakrid holidays next week?

According to the holiday calendar of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Bakrid holidays will be celebrated on different days in different areas; This will depend on the sighting of the moon and the local traditions there.

28th May (Thursday): On 28th May which is the main day of Bakrid festival. Banks will remain closed in most states and big cities of the country.

May 27 and 28 (two-day holiday): Banks in Jammu and Kashmir and Srinagar divisions will remain closed for two consecutive days (Wednesday and Thursday).

According to the RBI calendar, banks will remain closed in the following big cities in the last week of May (from May 26 to May 28):

Cities to remain closed on May 26 (Kazi Nazrul Islam Jayanti): Agartala, Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jammu, Kochi, Kohima, Kolkata, Lucknow, New Delhi, Raipur, Ranchi, Shillong, Shimla, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijayawada.

Cities to remain closed on May 27 (first day of Bakrid): Jammu and Srinagar. Cities to remain closed on May 28 (Eid-ul-Azha holiday): New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bhopal, Patna, Ranchi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Belapur, Bengaluru, Chennai, Dehradun, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Nagpur, Panaji, Raipur, Shimla, Shillong, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijayawada.

Double blow for SBI customers: Strike fixed on 25th and 26th May

Apart from the Eid-ul-Azha holidays, the All India State Bank of India Staff Federation has called for a nationwide strike on May 25 (Monday) and May 26 (Tuesday).

Why is the strike happening?

The employee union is protesting against the delay in new recruitments, outsourcing of banking functions, selection of National Pension System (NPS) fund managers, career progression policy and internal issues related to HRMS (Human Resource Management System). If this strike goes ahead, there could be a complete halt in operations at SBI branches; However, work in other banks (like HDFC, PNB and ICICI) is expected to continue as normal.

Understanding the math behind the 6-day banking disruption

In several states, a unique combination of events is creating a situation where banks may remain closed from Saturday to Thursday:

23 May: Fourth Saturday (Bank Holiday).
24 May: Weekly Sunday off (Bank Holiday).
25 May: Proposed strike by SBI employees (SBI affected).
26 May: Second day of strike + regional holiday in many cities (Kazi Nazrul Islam Jayanti).
May 27: Eid-ul-Azha holiday in Jammu and Kashmir.
28 May: Main holiday of Eid-ul-Azha in almost all the states of the country.

Note: This strike is currently only ‘proposed’. If negotiations with the government or bank management are successful, SBI branches can function normally on May 25 and 26. Therefore, please confirm the status with your local branch before venturing out. Use digital services. Your work will not stop.

UPI and Net Banking: Google Pay, PhonePe and Net Banking will remain operational 24 hours a day for money transfer and online payments.

ATM and cash machines: ATM services will remain open for withdrawing and depositing money.

IMPS / NEFT: Holidays will have no impact on online fund transfer.