Banking services across States and Union territories are expected to remain closed for several days in March 2026, which is marked by multiple significant holidays. This also includes a few state-specific holidays as well as closures on the second and fourth Saturdays and all Sundays.
This year, the auspicious occasion of Holi will be marked by grand celebrations on Mar. 4, as per the Drik Panchang. Also, Eid-ul-Fitr in India is expected to fall on either Mar. 20 or Mar. 21, depending on the sighting of the moon. Besides this, people will observe Ram Navami toward the end of the month.
Bank Holidays In March 2026
As per the official holidays calendar of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banks across states and Union Territories are scheduled to remain shut for multiple days in the third month of the year. This will be majorly due to Holi, Ram Navami and Id-Ul-Fitr celebrations as well as Chapchar Kut, Shab-I-Qadr and Mahavir Jayanti.
Apart from these occasions, banks will remain shut on the second and fourth Saturdays as well as all Sundays.
"All scheduled and non-scheduled banks will observe public holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays," as per the official RBI notification for bank holidays.
Here is the complete list of bank holidays in March 2026:
- Mar. 2 - Holika Dahan
- Mar. 3 - Holi (Second Day)/Dol Jatra/Dhulandi/Holika Dahan
- Mar. 4 - Holi/Holi 2nd Day – Dhuleti/Yaosang 2nd Day
- Mar. 13 - Chapchar Kut
- Mar. 14 - Second Saturday
- Mar. 17 - Shab-I-Qadr
- Mar. 19 - Gudhi Padwa/Ugadi Festival/Telugu New Year's Day/Sajibu Nongmapanba (Cheiraoba)/1st Navratra
- Mar. 20 - Eid-Ul-Fitr (Ramzan)/Jumat-ul-Vida
- Mar. 21 - Ramzan-Id (Id-Ul-Fitr) (Shawal-1)/Khutub-E-Ramzan/
Sarhul - Mar. 26 - Shree Ram Navami
- Mar. 27 - Shree Ram Navami (Chaite Dasain)
- Mar. 28 - Fourth Saturday
- Mar. 31 - Mahavir Janmakalyanak/Mahavir Jayanti
- Mar. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 - Bank holiday on Sunday
The central bank issues the list of bank holidays during the start of every calendar year. In India, banks remain shut on national holidays as well as regional festivals, besides the two Saturdays of the month and all Sundays.
These holidays have been classified by the RBI into three sections: Negotiable Instruments Act, Real-Time Gross Settlement Holiday, and Banks' Closing of Accounts.
Also Read: Banks Getting It All Wrong About Deposit Growth | The Reason Why
Customers are advised to plan their visits to banks in advance after checking the regional holiday calendar, since banking at the branches remain suspended on holidays.
However, they can continue to avail online banking services. These include services like UPI payments, net banking and ATM transactions and others.
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