In observance of Buddha Purnima on Friday, banks in certain regions of the country will remain closed. The states where banks will be closed include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Mizoram, Punjab, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
In these major cities banks will remain closed: Agartala, Aizawl, Belapur, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Raipur, Ranchi, Shimla, and Srinagar.
Buddha Purnima, observed on May 5 this year, commemorates the birth of Prince Siddharta Gautama who later came to be known as the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. According to Hindu mythology, this day is also believed to mark Lord Buddha’s birth and the day he attained enlightenment. It is celebrated with great fervor in various parts of the country and is a time for reflection, meditation, and spreading kindness and compassion.
In states across India, banks will remain closed for a total of 12 days this month. However, customers can continue to carry out transactions using digital methods as mobile and internet services will remain operational.
Other Bank holidays in May 2023
May 9: Banks in Bengal will be closed to commemorate Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary.
May 16: Banks in Sikkim will be closed to mark the state day’s celebrations.
May 22: Banks in Shimla will be closed to commemorate Maharana Pratap Jayanti.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), country’s central bank, classifies bank holidays into two categories – ‘national’ and ‘regional.’ On the former, bank branches across the country remain closed, while online financial services continue to function normally.