October Holidays 2026: Complete Holiday List

October 2026 is the busiest month of the year for Indian banks. The default is closure days (8), Sundays (4), Saturday closure days (2), Gandhi Jayanti and Dussehra. For eastern and north-eastern states, however, the count goes up to 10 or above along the Durga Puja corridor from Oct 19 to 23 while up to 12 days are non-working days in Sikkim.

The unique thing about October 2026 is the Dussehra/Durga Puja window. Most banks in India close only on October 20 (Vijayadashami) and some eastern states have bank holidays in the period of October 19-23. The 4th Saturday and Sunday (Oct 24–25) are right on the heels of the previous weekend, resulting in a long weekend in some areas.

October has a 5th Saturday (October 31) and in all the states except Gujarat, banks are open on this day. 

October 2026 Holiday Calendar

Gandhi Jayanti, October 2 (Friday)

The birthday of Mahatma Gandhi is a national holiday as per the Negotiable Instruments Act. All banks are closed everywhere in the country.

October 2 is a Friday and October 3 is a 1st Saturday and is a regular working day for banks. So, banks are reopened Saturday and there will be no banks on Sunday (October 4). Banks do not have a long weekend on Gandhi Jayanti, although banks in states that do not have Saturday branches may have a longer long weekend. 

Dussehra / Durga Puja, October 19 to 23

This is the most complicated holiday corridor of the year. Sharad Navratri festival started from 11th October (Sunday) and ended on 20th October ( Tuesday) in Vijayadashami/Dussehra. However, the bank closure window is widely different in various parts of the world. 

October 19 (Monday), Maha Navami / Durga Puja / Ayudha Puja

Banks close at the following RBI centres:

In states not listed above, including Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP, UP, Karnataka, and Kerala, October 19 is a regular working day.

October 20 (Tuesday), Dussehra / Vijayadashami

The main Dussehra holiday. Banks close across nearly all of India. This is a gazetted national holiday and a Central Government closed holiday under DoPT.

October 21 (Wednesday), Vijaya Dasami / Durga Puja

Banks close at select centres for the post-Dussehra observance:

October 22–23 (Thursday–Friday), Sikkim Only

The banks in the centre at Gangtok will be closed on the occasion of Dasain festival. It is Sikkim's fifth consecutive day of bank closure (Oct 19-23) and its 4th Saturday and Sunday of bank closure Oct 24-25, making a week long bank closure.

Impact by Region

• Most of India: 1 day (Oct 20 only)

• Western (WB), Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal, Nagaland, Meghalaya: 2 days (Oct 19-20)

• States with Oct 21 observance (WB): 3 days, Assam, Tripura, Karnataka, Kerala, Sikkim: 5 days

• Sikkim: 5 days (Oct 19–23) 

Post-Dussehra Regional Holidays, October 26

There are three different holidays, all on Monday, October 26, for different states:

The Agartala centre of Lakshmi Puja and Tripura Banks shuts down. Tripura banks are closed at some points in the second half of October: Oct 17 (Maha Saptami), Oct 19-21 (Durga Puja), Oct 24-25 (4th Sat + Sun) and Oct 26 (Lakshmi Puja).

In order to mark the occasion of J&K's accession to India, Jammu & Kashmir Banks at Jammu and Srinagar centres close for Accession Day.

Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti is the day on which banks are closed in the following centers of the state of Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh: Centre of Shimla, Centre of Chandigarh. Note: Valmiki Jayanti is celebrated in many northern states like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi etc., but only the bank closure schedule is mentioned for the bank centre in Shimla and Chandigarh on this occasion on the RBI matrix. Delhi, Punjab and Haryana banks are open. 

Saturday Rule in October 2026

October 2026 has a 5th Saturday (October 31). Under the Saturday rule (Gazette Notification S.O. 2285, August 20, 2015), only the 2nd and 4th Saturdays are bank holidays. The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Saturdays are regular working days unless a separate holiday falls on that date.

In Gujarat, October 31 is a bank holiday for the Ahmedabad centre on account of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's Birthday, separate from the Saturday rule. In all other states, banks are open.

Digital Banking on Holidays

Most of the digital transactions are not impacted by branch closures:

• NEFT, 24x7 since December 16, 2019 (RBI Circular RBI/2019-20/111)

• RTGS, 24x7 since December 14, 2020 (RBI Circular RBI/2020-21/70)

• The IMPS and UPI services are available 24 hours a day.

• Available subject to cash availability (ATM).

• Ultimately, they have introduced mobile and internet banking, which are generally available.

Cheque clearing (CTS) is available only during working days. The next working day is generally used to process the next day of NACH auto-debits scheduled on a holiday. “In-branch services”, “counter transactions”, “locker access” and “demand drafts” services are not available on closure days.

Schedule cheque deposits and in-branch transactions in advance for October; it's a hectic week for closures. The Oct 19-25 period may cause up to 7 consecutive days of delay for cheque clearance in Sikkim and 4-5 days in eastern states. 

How to Verify a Specific Branch's Schedule

In advance of a time-sensitive visit to a branch, verify the closure information by:

• The official source, the RBI Holiday Matrix at rbi.org.in, compiled by RBI regional centres is available for reference.

• Most banks have their own holiday calendar, which you can find on their website or in their mobile app.

• Call for the most up-to-date information, particularly holidays at the district level, your branch directly.

The Dussehra/Durga Puja corridor is the most region-dependent one of the year. Holidays are not listed by state but by centre (city) and the number of closure days depends on which centre your branch is under. Please check your branch's schedule for service dates if needed between October 19 and 25. 

Frequently Asked Questions

In October 2026, how many days will banks be open?In October 2026, what will be the number of days banks will be open?
At least 8 days in most states: 4 Sundays (Oct 4, 11, 18, 25), the 2nd Saturday (Oct 10), the 4th Saturday (Oct 24), Gandhi Jayanti (Oct 2), and Dussehra (Oct 20). For Eastern/North-Eastern states the additional days are 1-3 days for Durga Puja (19th of Oct/21st of Oct). Up to 12 shutdown days in Sikkim include regional shutdown and Saturday.

What is the date of Dussehra 2026?
Tuesday, October 20, 2026 is the date for the festival of Dussehra (Vijayadashami). It is a bank holiday in almost all parts of India. The days before these two (Maha Navami on 19th October and Vijaya Dasami on 21st October) are bank holidays in eastern and north-eastern states, while in some states like West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala and Sikkim, these two are celebrated as bank holidays.

Will banks be closed for Durga Puja in October 2026?
Not everywhere. The majority of India's cities shut down just on 20th October. October 19-20 is the typical closing date in eastern states with some closing on October 21 as well. Sikkim has the longest closure, from 19th October to 23rd October. Then October 24 (4th Saturday) and 25 (Sunday), are closed everywhere, hence Sikkim gets a whole week with no bank.

Does Halloween fall on a bank holiday?
31st October is the 5th Saturday, a day on which banks do business. The Ahmedabad centre is closed for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birthday, except in the state of Gujarat. In all other states, banks are open.

Is there a long weekend for October 2026 on Gandhi Jayanti?
Not for banks. October 2 is a Friday (Gandhi Jayanti) and October 3 is a 1st Saturday (working day). The banks will be open on Saturday and closed on Friday and Sunday. This holiday does not have a bank holiday that lasts for three days.