Bank holidays next week: Drukpa Tshe-zi celebrations in Sikkim, Sunday weekly offs and is next Saturday a holiday?
Besides the celebration, we also take a look at the weekend holidays next week — on Sunday (August 3), and if the next Saturday (August 2) is a bank holiday.
Monday, July 28 is Drukpa Tshe-zi, for which banks in Gangtok will be closed. Drukpa Tshe-zi is a Buddhist festival that falls on the fourth day of the sixth month in the Tibetan lunar calendar. It marks Lord Buddha's first sermon.
Meanwhile, August 2 is a Saturday, but not a weekend holiday. Only the second and fourth Saturdays, besides all Sundays are weekly holidays for banks in India. Overall, there were a total of seven listed bank holidays in July this year.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and state governments create a list of holidays for banks, taking into account national and local occasions, operational requirements, religious celebrations and other cultural observances. The central bank makes the announcement through its official website and notifications to banks and other financial institutions.
You can continue to use online or mobile banking services even on national holidays — unless notified to users for technical or other reasons. For cash emergencies, ATMs are open for withdrawals, app and UPI function as usual. July 3 (Thursday) — Kharchi Puja — Banks will be closed in Agartala to celebrate Kharchi Puja, a Hindu festival in Tripura dedicated to fourteen deities called Chaturdasha Devata.
July 5 (Saturday) — Guru Hargobind's Birthday — Banks will be closed in Jammu and Srinagar to mark Guru Hargobind's Birthday, the sixth of the ten Sikh Gurus.
July 6 (Sunday) — Banks closed pan-India.
July 12 (Saturday) — Banks closed pan-India for second Saturday.
July 13 (Sunday) — Banks closed pan-India.
July 14 (Monday) — Beh Deinkhlam — Banks will be closed in Shillong for Beh Deinkhlam, a festival celebrated by the Jaintia tribe in Meghalaya. July 16 (Wednesday) — Harela — Banks in Dehradun will be closed for Harela, a festival celebrated in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand and some parts of Himachal Pradesh.
July 17 (Thursday) — Death Anniversary of U Tirot Singh — Banks will remain shut in Shillong, marking the death anniversary of U Tirot Singh, one of the chiefs of the Khasi people.
July 19 (Saturday) — Ker Puja — Banks in Agartala will be closed for Ker Puja, a festival celebrated in Tripura. It is dedicated to Ker, the region's guardian deity, who protects from calamities and external threats.
July 20 (Sunday) — Banks closed pan-India.
July 26 (Saturday) — Banks closed pan-India for fourth Saturday.
July 27 (Sunday) — Banks closed pan-India.
July 28 (Monday) — Drukpa Tshe-zi — Banks in Gangtok will be closed for Drukpa Tshe-zi, a Buddhist festival that falls on the fourth day of the sixth month in the Tibetan lunar calendar. This day marks Lord Buddha's first sermon.
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