No bank holiday on Eid al-Fitr this year? Know reason behind this

All major banks will remain open on Eid al-Fitr or Ramadan Eid this year despite it being a public holiday in India. This is because the festival is set to coincide with the end of the ongoing financial year (2024-2025) on March 31.

The directive has been issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The central bank has asked all major banks to keep branches dealing with government transactions operational on the said date.

In a circular issued on 11 February, the RBI said the decision was taken following a request by the central government.

“The Government of India has made a request to keep all branches of the banks dealing with Government receipts and payments open for transactions on March 31, 2025 (Monday-Public Holiday) so as to account for all the Government transactions relating to receipts and payments in the Financial Year 2024-25 itself,” the RBI circular read.

Banks have also been asked to widely publicise the availability of banking services on the final day of the fiscal year.

The mandate applies to 33 banks designated as “agency banks” by the RBI. They include public-sector, private-sector, and foreign banks authorised to handle government-related transactions.

Here is the list of agency banks:

1) UCO Bank
2) Bank of India
3) Bank of Maharashtra
4) Canara Bank
5) DCB Bank Ltd.
6) Indian Bank
7) Indian Overseas Bank
8) Punjab and Sind Bank
9) Punjab National Bank
10) State Bank of India
11) Bank of Baroda
12) Union Bank of India
13) Axis Bank Ltd.
14) City Union Bank Ltd.
15) Central Bank of India
16) Federal Bank Ltd.
17) HDFC Bank Ltd.
18) ICICI Bank Ltd.
19) IDBI Bank Ltd.
20) IDFC FIRST Bank Ltd.
21) IndusInd Bank Ltd.
22) Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd.
23) Karnataka Bank Ltd.
24) Karur Vysya Bank Ltd.
25) Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
26) RBL Bank Ltd.
27) South Indian Bank Ltd.
28) Yes Bank Ltd.
29) Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd.
30) Bandhan Bank Ltd.
31) CSB Bank Ltd.
32) Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd.
33) DBS Bank India Ltd.