NEW DELHI, India | September 22, 2026 —
Planning to visit your bank next month? Check the holiday calendar before stepping out. Bank Holidays October 2026 will include Gandhi Jayanti, Dussehra and Durga Puja holidays, along with Sundays and the regular second and fourth Saturday closures.
However, customers should note one important point: banks will not remain closed on all these dates everywhere in India.
Several October holidays are state-specific. Therefore, a branch may remain open in Delhi while banks are closed in Kolkata, Bengaluru, Gangtok or another banking centre on the same day.
Across India, bank closures could fall on as many as 16 different calendar dates somewhere in the country during October 2026, once Sundays, Saturday holidays and regional festivals are combined.
How many bank holidays are there in October 2026?
Every bank customer will not get the same number of holidays.
October has four Sundays — October 4, 11, 18 and 25.
Banks will also remain closed on the second Saturday, October 10, and fourth Saturday, October 24.
Gandhi Jayanti falls on Friday, October 2 and will be one of the major nationwide bank holidays.
Beyond these common closures, additional holidays will apply depending on the state or city.
For example, Delhi’s notified banking calendar includes Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 and Dussehra on October 20. Including Sundays and the second and fourth Saturdays, bank branches in Delhi could therefore remain closed on eight days during October.
Bank Holidays October 2026: Full Date-Wise Calendar
| Date | Day | Holiday / Reason | Where It May Apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2 | Friday | Gandhi Jayanti | Banks across most/all banking centres |
| October 4 | Sunday | Weekly holiday | Nationwide |
| October 10 | Saturday | Second Saturday | Nationwide |
| October 11 | Sunday | Weekly holiday | Nationwide |
| October 17 | Saturday | Maha Saptami / Durga Puja | Select eastern and northeastern centres |
| October 18 | Sunday | Weekly holiday | Nationwide |
| October 19 | Monday | Maha Ashtami / Maha Navami / Ayudha Puja / Durga Puja | Several states and cities |
| October 20 | Tuesday | Dussehra / Vijaya Dashami / Durga Puja | Delhi and several other states |
| October 21 | Wednesday | Vijaya Dashami / Durga Puja | Select states and banking centres |
| October 22 | Thursday | Durga Puja / Dasain | Select centres, including parts of the Himalayan region |
| October 23 | Friday | Durga Puja / Dasain | Select banking centres |
| October 24 | Saturday | Fourth Saturday | Nationwide |
| October 25 | Sunday | Weekly holiday | Nationwide |
| October 26 | Monday | Lakshmi Puja / Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti / Accession Day | Applicable states and UTs |
| October 29 | Thursday | Karva Chauth | Select banking centres |
| October 31 | Saturday | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Jayanti | Gujarat and select centres |
Gandhi Jayanti brings the first major bank closure
October begins with an important national holiday.
October 2, 2026 falls on a Friday, when bank branches will remain closed for Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.
Because October 3 is a working Saturday for most banks and October 4 is Sunday, customers planning branch transactions around the first weekend should check local branch timings in advance.
Dussehra and Durga Puja could create longer bank closures
The busiest part of the October holiday calendar comes in the second half of the month.
Durga Puja, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami, Dussehra and Vijaya Dashami are observed on different dates depending on the state.
As a result, branches in some eastern and northeastern states may remain closed for multiple consecutive days.
West Bengal, Tripura, Sikkim, Jharkhand and parts of southern India traditionally observe additional holidays around Durga Puja or Dussehra.
Customers should therefore check the holiday applicable to their RBI banking centre instead of assuming that one national calendar applies everywhere.
Are banks closed on every Saturday?
No.
Banks in India observe holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month.
Other Saturdays normally remain working days unless a national, state or local holiday falls on that date.
In October 2026, the regular Saturday bank holidays are:
October 10 — Second Saturday
October 24 — Fourth Saturday
October 3, 17 and 31 are normally working Saturdays unless a regional holiday applies.
Will UPI and online banking work during bank holidays?
Yes, most digital banking facilities are generally available even when physical bank branches are closed.
Customers can normally continue using UPI, mobile banking, internet banking, ATMs and many online fund-transfer services.
However, transactions that require branch staff, physical document verification, locker access or certain cheque-processing activities may have to wait until the next working day.
Customers planning large transactions should therefore avoid leaving branch-dependent work until the final moment.
Check your city before visiting the bank
Bank holiday calendars in India are determined by a combination of nationwide banking holidays and state-specific holidays under applicable laws and RBI banking-centre calendars.
That means a holiday in Kolkata does not automatically mean a bank holiday in Mumbai, Delhi or Chennai.
Customers should check with their bank branch or the applicable RBI holiday calendar before making travel or financial plans.
October will be a busy month for bank customers
The festive season will make October 2026 one of the months when advance planning can save customers an unnecessary trip to the bank.
Gandhi Jayanti, Durga Puja, Dussehra, regional festivals, four Sundays and two Saturday holidays will create several branch closures across different parts of India.
So the simple rule is:
Do not count the total India-wide holiday dates as holidays for your own city. Check the state-specific calendar first.
Digital banking may keep money moving around the clock, but for branch work, knowing the October bank holiday calendar in advance could save both time and inconvenience.
