Commercial bank counters pulled their shutters down across nine states on Monday, November 9, inaugurating a fractured fortnight of festival closures under the Reserve Bank of India's regional calendar. Branch operations halted in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Sikkim, and the union territory of Chandigarh to observe Laxmi Puja, Govardhan Puja, and Vishwakarma Day. The teller windows went dark. Digital rails, however, hummed along without friction.
Branch locks will not open everywhere come Tuesday morning. Under the central bank's staggered framework, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim halt walk-in banking on November 10 for Bali Pratipada and Vikram Samvat New Year celebrations. Another five states—Sikkim, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Himachal Pradesh—will suspend physical banking on November 11 for Bhai Dooj and Ningol Chakkouba. Across all shuttered zones, automated teller machines, Unified Payments Interface channels, and web platforms continue processing retail settlements. Yet physical paper—cheques awaiting manual clearance, high-value corporate cash deposits, and demand drafts—remains locked out until vault doors reopen.
Regional calendars split sharply once Diwali concludes. Meghalaya suspends branch operations on November 13 for the Wangala Festival, before halting again on November 23 to mark Seng Kut Snem. Bihar and Jharkhand close banking counters on November 16 for Chhath Puja. Uttarakhand observes a separate local closure on November 20 for Igas-Bagwal.
| Date | States Affected | Occasion Observed |
|---|---|---|
| November 9 | Tripura, MP, Chandigarh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Rajasthan, UP, Chhattisgarh | Diwali, Laxmi Puja, Govardhan Puja |
| November 10 | Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Sikkim | Bali Pratipada, Vikram Samvat New Year |
| November 11 | Sikkim, Manipur, UP, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh | Bhai Dooj, Ningol Chakkouba, Chitragupt Jayanti |
| November 13 | Meghalaya | Wangala Festival |
| November 16 | Bihar, Jharkhand | Chhath Puja (Surya Shashthi Dala Chhath) |
| November 20 | Uttarakhand |
The broadest single-day shutdown hits on November 24. Seventeen states and union territories—including Delhi, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Rajasthan—will freeze branch-level operations for Guru Nanak Jayanti and Karthika Purnima. Standard statutory closures also mandate shutdowns on the second and fourth Saturdays across all scheduled public and private commercial lenders.
Full operations resume nationwide once Karnataka completes its Kanakadasa Jayanti holiday on November 27, restoring standard branch services ahead of month-end corporate clearing deadlines.
| Igas-Bagwal |
| November 23 | Meghalaya | Seng Kut Snem |
| November 24 | 17 States and UTs including Delhi, Maharashtra, UP, WB | Guru Nanak Jayanti, Karthika Purnima |
| November 27 | Karnataka | Kanakadasa Jayanti |