Durga Puja 2026: Dates and Holiday Details

The celebration of Durga Puja 2026 culminates in the middle of October and in the eastern part of the country it results in several days of bank holiday, primarily 19th, 20th and 21st October. For the majority of the country, the one related closure will be on Tuesday, October 20 for Dussehra (Vijayadashami).

This page is dedicated to dates, because which days banks close on, and how the schedule varies from state to state, including the explanation of why Bengal's Bijoya Dashami is a day later than North India's Dussehra.

Note: Dates for Durga Puja are determined by the moon days or Tithis and this year 2026 is compressed with Ashtami tithi day and Navami tithi day is around October 19. There are regional panchangs, which change from day to day. The bank-closure dates mentioned below are as per RBI holiday calendar and are the reliable dates to plan around. 

Durga Puja 2026, Key Dates

Ritual-day dates above follow commonly used Indian panchangs and may differ by a day regionally. What does not vary for planning purposes is the bank-closure schedule, below.

Which Durga Puja Days Are Bank Holidays?

Durga Puja is not a single nationwide bank holiday, and the four "big" days (Saptami–Dashami) are not four separate closures everywhere. The RBI holiday calendar lists closures by regional centre (city). Here is the verified cluster for 2026:

October 19 is a Monday, and October 21 is a Wednesday, so eastern-state customers get closures on either side of the pan-India Dussehra on October 20.

How Many Days Banks Close, by State

There are 2 weekend closures that immediately follow the cluster: the 4th Saturday (October 24) and Sunday (October 25). In West Bengal, this translates to a fairly limited branch access from 19th Oct to 25th Oct (except for 22nd/23rd Oct where the branches are open).

Why Bengal's Dashami Is a Day Later.

In northern India Vijayadashami is celebrated on October 20 when the Dashami tithi is active in the afternoon Vijay Muhurat along with Dussehra and Ravana Dahan.

Bengal observes the day of the idol immersion (visarjan), which is on October 21st, 2026, on the day the tithi is observed as a day to fix the idol, Bijoya Dashami. This is no mistake and the reason why the RBI calendar has a separate October 21 closure for West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Sikkim in addition to the October 20 closure for Dussehra. 

Banking During Durga Puja 2026

Closed branches don't preclude digital banking.

Performs activities during the Puja period:

• NEFT, 24x7 (RBI, since 16 December 2019)

• RTGS, 24x7 (RBI, since 14 December 2020)

• IMPS and UPI, 24×7.

ATM's are available subject to replenishment of cash,

Mobile and internet banking, as found in the majority of banks.

Closure days:

• Cheque clearing (CTS): Working days only, a cheque that goes in before October 19 is cleared only after banks reopen in West Bengal.

• If a Debian date falls in the cluster, the process is delayed till the next working day; sufficient balance should be kept if it is a NACH auto debit (EMI) or SIPs.

• The above services and other such benefits like Branch counter services, Cash deposit/withdrawal, Demand drafts, Locker access and documentation etc.

Advice for eastern India: October 19/22 for those who wish to do branch dependent work in west Bengal and Assam. The gap in Sikkim is October 20-23 and so plan in advance before October 19. Cooperative banks and Regional Rural Banks can do more local bank closures in addition to RBI centre closures. 

A Brief Note on the Festival

Durga Puja is celebrated in honor of the victory of goddess Durga over the buffalo demon Mahishasura. It is the biggest annual celebration in West Bengal and is also significant in Assam, Tripura, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand and among Bengali population outside West Bengal like in Delhi. Kolkata's Durga Puja was added to the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021. The last 4 days of the month are the most important (Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami) and that is why the banks close during these days in eastern states. 

How to Confirm Your Branch's Schedule

1. The official source is rbi.org.in that has given a RBI Holiday Matrix. Choose the month of October 2026 and your RBI centre.

2. Your bank's website or app, most publish a festival holiday notice.

3. Your branch directly, particularly helpful in the eastern states as the number of closure days is determined by the RBI centre your branch belongs to. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the date of Durga Puja in 2026?
A: Major days are mid-October, Ashtami/Navami on Monday, October 19, Vijayadashami (Dussehra) on Tuesday, October 20 (most of India) and Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday, October 21 (Bengal). Mahalaya is the beginning of the season, which is approximately around October 10.

Q: Are there bank holidays on either of the Durga Puja days?
A: October 19 (Ashtami/Navami/Durga Puja) and 21 (Bijoya Dashami) were closed in most parts of eastern India, while October 20 (Dussehra) was closed almost nationwide. Similarly, Tripura will also remain closed on October 17 (Maha Saptami), while Sikkim will remain shut on October 22–23, for Dasain.

Q: Are Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami four different bank holidays?
A: No. Ashtami and Navami tithis do not get together in 2026 (Roughly October 19th) rather than 4 different closure days. The bank holiday is observed only in the state of Tripura this year on Maha Saptami Day.

Q: October 21 is the day of Bengal's Dashami and October 20 is the day of Dussehra, why?
A: Vijayadashami is celebrated in North India on the afternoon Vijay Muhurat on October 20 and Bijoya Dasami (Immersion day) is celebrated on October 21 in Bengal. They're both valid for their customs and RBI has closed both days in the respective states.

Q: Is there any possibility of transferring funds and paying via UPI during Durga Puja?
A: Yes. NEFT, RTGS, IMPS and UPI operate 24x7 all the time. The closure days are observed by only branch counter services and cheque clearing.