Public sector banks will be closed from April 1 to 3, followed by the weekend, in many parts of the country, causing inconvenience to customers.
Public sector and cooperative banks will be closed on April 1 for the annual closing of accounts. Under the Negotiable Instruments Act, April 2 will be a holiday for Mahavir Jayanti and April 3 for Good Friday. Banks will function only for half a day on Saturday, April 4. Hence, branch banking will resume in full force only on April 6.
These holidays differ from one State to the other, and not all will have consecutive holidays.
Information posted on the website of the Indian Banks’ Association says Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh will have continuous holidays from April 1 to 3, while in other States, some banks will work on April 2 and some others on April 3.
Senior bank officials told The Hindu that without directives from the Reserve Bank of India or the Union government, banks could not function on holidays that came under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
They, however, said the public sector banks would keep Internet banking and ATMs active and customers could carry out their transactions online or through mobile banking.
