Bank Holidays in August 2021: Banks to remain shut for 15 days this month; Full list here

The private and government banks will remain closed for a total of 15 days in August, according to the holiday calendar of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This includes Sunday and the second and fourth Saturday as well as the total number of leaves for lenders that will send the banks on a long holiday. These holidays will not be applicable throughout the country but in a few states. Reportedly, the banking services will be shut for 7 days, which would be the usual weekends, meanwhile, eight more offs will be a part of the RBI-listed holidays which includes the festivals.

According to RBI, the holiday categories for the bank are divided into three, which include ‘Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act’, ‘Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act and Real-Time Gross Settlement Holiday’, and ‘Banks’ Closing of Accounts’.

Bank Holidays in August 2021

August 1 would be the first Sunday as well as the first day of the month, on which the banks will not be operational. Not all the banks will follow the holidays simultaneously except for the weekends. RBI’s mandated list includes just two days that will be common for most states, lest all the holidays will be allocated on different dates, hence making the banking visits easier.

The festival of Muharram will fall on August 19 and will be celebrated across multiple states including Agartala, Ahmedabad, Belapur, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, and Srinagar.  August 13 will be celebrated as Martyrdom Day in Imphal state, while August 16 is the Parsi New Year celebrated in Belapur, Mumbai, and Nagpur regions of Maharashtra state. 

Janmashtami, which falls on August 30 will be celebrated across 15 cities including Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Lucknow, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, and Gangtok. Lenders will be non-operational for both of these festival holidays. The rest of the holidays fall under the ‘Holiday Negotiable Instruments Act’ which allows mandatory leaves for lenders countrywide and it begins on  August 13 and concludes by August 31. Here’s a list of weekly offs and the festive holidays for the banks. 

Weekly offs in August 2021

• 1 August - Sunday
• 8 August - Sunday
• 14 August - Second Saturday
• 15 August - Sunday
• 22 August - Sunday
• 28 August - Fourth Saturday
• 29 August - Sunday

Festival offs in August 2021

• 16 August - Parsi New Year for Nagpur, Belapur, Mumbai in Maharashtra State
• 19 August - Muharram
• 20 August - Muharram and First Onam in Kochi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kerala
• 21 August - Thiruvonam in Kochi, Kerala
• 23 August - Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti in Kochi, Kerala
• 30 August - Janmashtami
• 31 August - Shri Krishna Ashtami in Hyderabad