No Holiday for Eid; Banks to Remain Open on March 31 for Year-End Government Transactions

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that all agency banks must keep their branches open on March 31, 2025, to facilitate government transactions, despite the day being a public holiday in observance of Id-Ul-Fitr (Ramadan Eid).

In a notification issued to agency banks, the RBI confirmed that the decision was made following a request from the Union government. The government has requested that banks dealing with government transactions remain operational on March 31 to ensure that all government receipts and payments for the financial year 2024-25 are properly accounted for.

"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, 2025 (Monday - Public Holiday) so as to account for all the Government transactions relating to receipts and payments in the Financial Year 2024-25 itself," the RBI notification stated.

To ensure smooth operations, agency banks have been instructed to provide wide publicity about the availability of banking services on this day. The list of agency banks authorized to handle government transactions includes 33 designated public sector, private sector, and foreign banks.

These agency banks manage various government-related services, including tax collections, pension disbursements, and other receipts and payments. The move is crucial, as March 31 marks the end of the financial year, a critical period for the government to finalize its fiscal accounts.

List of Agency Banks:

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

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.

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.

DBS Bank India Limited

The RBI's directive will ensure that government transactions are completed efficiently, even during a public holiday, allowing for the smooth closing of the financial year.