Are banks closed on Lohri and Makar Sankranti? Year 2025's first major festivals are here and people would want to know if banks are closed on Lohri and Makar Sankranti. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) releases a holiday calendar every year and according to it, banks are open on January 13 (Lohri) but will remain closed on Makar Sankranti (January 14). An important thing to note here is that January 14 is not a bank holiday across India, the financial institutions will be closed in some cities, as per the RBI calendar.
Banks will remain closed on January 14 in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Itanagar, Kanpur and Lucknow. Apart from Makar Sankranti, the day is also celebrated as Punyakala, Pongal, Maghe Sankranti or Magh Bihu in various states.
It marks the birthday of Hazrat Ali, leading to closure of schools in some regions.
It is advisable to check with local bank branches about holidays on these two days. In Delhi-NCR, banks are open on both the dates as RBI calendar doesn't mention these holidays in its calendar.
Though the banks will be closed on Makar Sankranti, customers will not feel any issue in carrying our financial transactions, which can be done through internet banking and ATMs.
Apart from the holidays on the weekends, there are up to eight bank holidays in January.
These include Thiruvalluvar Day on January 15 when banks will be closed in Tamil Nadu, Uzhavar Thirunal on January 16, which is majorly celebrated in Tamil Nadu leading to bank holiday. Further, bank branches will also remain closed in West Bengal, Odisha and Tripura on January 23, the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose or Vir Surendrasai Jayanti.
RBI releases the bank's holiday calendar every year under the provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Some holidays are also observed as banks' closing of accounts.
