Bank Holidays 2022: Banks to remain shut for 15 days in April

Not only that, but the month of April will also see a long weekend.

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India determines bank holidays each month, releasing a month-by-month schedule of such days off for private and public lenders at the start of the year. According to the list, all commercial and public sector banks will have 15 bank holidays in April 2022. This is due to the fact that April is jam-packed with festivities, including Assam's Bihu and West Bengal's Bengali New Year.

Not only that, but the month of April will also see a long weekend, with banks in some areas of India closing for as many as four days on account of Ambedkar Jayanti, Good Friday, Bohag Bihu, and a weekend leave. The April bank holidays include the annual shutting of bank accounts on April 1, which is reserved for bank staff every year.

Banks are open on the first and third Saturdays of each month, but will be closed on April 16 in some regions of the country due to Bohag Bihu, which falls on the third Saturday. The number of holidays has been set at nine this month, according to the RBI's bank holiday list announced this year. The remaining six bank holidays are weekend offs, with four Sundays and two Saturdays staying closed. The holidays listed by the central bank are divided into three categories: state-wide festivities, religious holidays, and festival celebrations.

One should also note that the Reserve Bank places bank holidays under three separate brackets. These are — ‘Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act’, ‘Holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement Holiday’ and ‘Banks’ Closing of Accounts’. On the notified bank holidays set by the RBI, all branches of lenders across the public sector, private sector, foreign banks, cooperative banks and regional banks remain closed.