Makar Sankranti Bank Holiday: Will banks remain closed today? Check city-wise list here

Makar Sankranti, a popular Hindu festival marks the start of the harvest season. The festival occurs according to the solar cycle and corresponds to the exact time astronomical event of the Sun entering Capricorn and is observed on a day that usually falls on 14 January of the Gregorian calendar, but on 15 January in leap years. 

Makar Sankranti has different names in different Indian cultures like Khichdi, Pongal, Uttarayan, and Kite Festival. This is one of the many festivals on which banks remain closed. However, not every state or city has their banks closed on this day. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has a bank holiday calender.  

According to RBI’s bank holiday calender, banks will not function on January 14, Tuesday in many cities. These are: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Hyderabad (Telangana), Itanagar, Kanpur and Lucknow. In these cities where Makar Sankranti is observed as a public holiday and therefore banks will remain closed. 

Other than Makar Sankranti, that is January 14, banks will be non-functional on January 15 and 16 in Chennai. In the Tamil Nadu’s capital January 15 is celebrated as Thiruvalluvar Day and January 16 is celebrated as Uzhavar Thirunal and these celebrations are observed as holidays. In Kolkata, Agartala, and Bhubaneswar banks will be closed on January 23 as well as it is observed asNetaji Subhash Chandra Bose Jayanti and Veer Surendra Sai Jayanti. As banks remain closed on fourth Saturdays of all months, January 25 will be a nationwide bank holiday.