The October bank holidays calendar means bank branches across India will stay shut for 14 days this month, including the Dussehra festival stretch from October 19 to 21, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s state-wise holiday list. The October bank holidays combine national holidays, regional festivals and regular weekend closures — but the dates differ from state to state, so customers should check the RBI list applicable to their branch before planning a visit.
Banks follow the holiday calendar published by the RBI for each state, which is why a festival that closes branches in Kolkata may be a working day in Mumbai. While physical branches pause, digital services — UPI, mobile banking, internet banking and ATMs — generally keep running through these closures, though branch-dependent work such as cheque clearing and documentation can face delays of a working day or two.
October bank holidays: the Dussehra week closures
The busiest closure stretch of the October bank holidays falls in the Dussehra week. On October 19 (Monday), banks will remain closed in West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tripura and Meghalaya for Maha Ashtami and Maha Navami celebrations linked to Durga Puja. On October 20 (Tuesday), Dussehra and Vijayadashami shut branches in most states across the country. On October 21 (Wednesday), Vijaya Dashami and Durga Puja-related holidays apply in West Bengal, Karnataka, Assam, Sikkim, Kerala and Tripura, while Tripura also observed Maha Saptami on October 17.
The exact Dussehra closure day depends on the state: with Maha Ashtami on October 19 and Vijayadashami on October 20, customers in Durga Puja-celebrating states should treat October 19 to 21 as a three-day branch closure window and finish urgent banking work by the preceding weekend. The Dussehra stretch is the longest consecutive festival closure of the month in eastern India.
October bank holidays later in the month
After Dussehra, the October bank holidays continue with Valmiki Jayanti and Lakshmi Puja on October 26 (Monday), when banks close in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh and Tripura. Himachal Pradesh gets another holiday on October 29 (Thursday) for Karva Chauth, while Gujarat observes Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birthday on October 31 (Saturday). Earlier in the month, Gandhi Jayanti shut all banks nationwide on October 2, and Karnataka and West Bengal observed Mahalaya Amavasye on October 10.
Weekend closures add five more non-working days to the calendar: Sundays on October 4, 11, 18 and 25, plus the fourth Saturday on October 24. The second Saturday, October 10, was also a holiday. In all, the month has 14 days without branch banking — the heaviest closure count in the second half of the year, and a reminder of why the RBI publishes its holiday list state by state.
How October bank holidays affect customers
For customers, the closures mainly affect branch-dependent transactions. Cash deposits and withdrawals at branches, demand drafts, locker access and in-person KYC or documentation work all pause on holidays. Cheque clearing can also slow: instruments deposited just before a long closure may take an extra working day or two to clear, so high-value cheques are best deposited well before the Dussehra week.
Digital channels remain the workaround. UPI payments, NEFT and RTGS transfers, mobile and internet banking, and ATM withdrawals function through the holidays, subject to each bank’s system availability. Salary credits and auto-debits also process normally. Still, anyone with time-sensitive paperwork — loan disbursement formalities, locker operations or large deposits — should complete it ahead of the Dussehra week rather than during it.
Looking ahead, November brings Diwali: banks will close for Deepavali on November 1 across states, followed by Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj in northern states and Guru Nanak Jayanti on November 8. The festive season’s branch closures run into the second week of November, making late October the right time to plan ahead and avoid last-minute branch rushes during the busiest banking month of the festive season.