No Bank Holiday On Sunday: RBI Directs These Banks To Remain Open On March 31
Bank Holiday On Sunday, March 31: Banks are usually closed on Sundays and the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked all agency banks handling government transactions to keep their branches open on the last day of the current financial year (2023-24), Sunday, March 31, 2024.?
This request comes as the final day of the financial year (FY) 2023-24 falls on a Sunday, posing potential challenges for government financial activities.
In an official statement, the RBI, "The Government of India has made a request to keep all branches of the banks dealing with Government receipts and payments open for transactions on March 31, 2024 (Sunday) so as to account for all the Government transactions relating to receipts and payments in the FY2023-24 itself" .
The directive extends to all agency banks, requiring them to ensure banking services are available across branches dealing with government transactions on March 31, 2024. Additionally, banks are instructed to actively inform the public about the availability of services on this exceptional operational day.
Among the public-sector banks (PSBs) enlisted as RBI's agency banks are the Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, and Canara Bank, among others. Similarly, private banks like Axis Bank Ltd and HDFC Bank Ltd are committed to upholding RBI's mandate on agency banking operations.
Amidst these regulatory actions, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has held discussions, including a meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. These discussions precede the forthcoming interest rate-setting panel meeting scheduled for the following month. Simultaneously, the Finance Minister has engaged in dialogue with SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch at her office in the North Block.
These interactions are significant amidst industry calls for interest rate reductions and turbulent stock markets. Since February 2023, the RBI has maintained the benchmark interest rate or repo rate at 6.5%, contributing to ongoing discussions about potential monetary policy adjustments.
Adherence to RBI's directive on agency banking operations underscores efforts to ensure the smooth execution of government financial functions, even amidst calendar anomalies.
The Income Tax department recently announced the cancellation of the long weekend from March 29 to March 31, 2024. This decision was made due to pending tax-related work. March 29 is Good Friday, a holiday, March 30 is a Saturday, and March 31 is a Sunday.
"To facilitate completion of pending departmental work, all the Income Tax Offices throughout India shall remain open on 29th, 30th and 31st March 2024," said the Income-tax department in an order dated March 31, 2024.
Check out the list of Agency banks
Scheduled Public Sector Banks (post-amalgamation):
- Bank of Baroda
- Bank of India
- Bank of Maharashtra
- Canara Bank
- Central Bank of India
- Indian Bank
- Indian Overseas Bank
- Punjab and Sind Bank
- Punjab National Bank
- State Bank of India
- UCO Bank
- Union Bank of India
Scheduled Private Sector Banks:
- Axis Bank Ltd.
- City Union Bank Ltd.
- DCB Bank Ltd.
- Federal Bank Ltd.
- HDFC Bank Ltd.
- ICICI Bank Ltd.
- IDBI Bank Ltd.
- IDFC FIRST Bank Ltd.
- IndusInd Bank Ltd.
- Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd. (Approved for limited agency business)
- Karnataka Bank Ltd.
- Karur Vysya Bank Ltd.
- Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
- RBL Bank Ltd.
- South Indian Bank Ltd.
- Yes Bank Ltd.
- Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd.
- Bandhan Bank Ltd.
- CSB Bank Ltd.
- Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd.
Foreign Banks
DBS Bank India Limited (Scheduled foreign bank issued license by RBI for carrying on banking business in India through Wholly Owned Subsidiary (WOS) mode.)
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