Bank holiday today, 16 January: The ongoing week has been seeing multiple bank holidays across several states in India on the occasion of various harvest festivals and other observations. Since there are so many bank holidays this week, it has led to the question whether banks are open or closed today, 16 January.
There is a bank holiday on 16 January, Friday, in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on the occasion of Thiruvalluvar Day and Kanuma. This means that all public and private sector banks, including SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and PNB will be closed in these two states.
Bank holidays may differ from region to region depending on the festival or other important events. They are determined by the Reserve Bank of India, which shares the dates in the RBI bank holiday calendar.
On national holidays like Independence Day and Republic day, a bank holiday is observed across the nation.
What is Thiruvalluvar Day?
Tamil Nadu will observe a bank holiday for Thiruvalluvar Day, a public holiday in the state to mark the contributions of the great Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar, author of the Thirukkural. The day is celebrated along with Pongal festivities. It is to celebrate his profound work, the Thirukkural, which comprises 1,330 couplets on virtues (Dharma), wealth (Artha), and love (Kama). People remember him through events, cultural discussions and by reflecting on his verses.
What is Kanuma?
Kanuma is a significant harvest festival celebrated mostly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. On this day, people honour cattle, especially bulls and cows, for their contribution to agriculture. Kanuma is marked with festivities like rituals, decorations, and community gatherings.
Remaining bank holidays in January
There were up to 16 bank holidays in January, many of which have been used up already. The 16 bank holidays this month includes weekends. Here are the rest of the bank holidays in January —
17 January – Banks in Tamil Nadu will be closed due to Uzhavar Thirunal.
23 January – Banks will be closed in West Bengal, Odisha and Tripura due to the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose / Saraswati Puja (Shree Panchami) / Vir Surendrasai Jayanti / Basanta Panchami.
26 January – Banks will be closed across all states and Union Territories of India due to Republic Day.
The remaining bank holidays fall on weekends — specifically, the second and fourth Saturdays and all four Sundays.
It is to be noted that even though physical branches of banks will not be open on bank holidays, transactions like ATM cash withdrawals, UPI payments and internet banking will function as usual.
