11:40 AM IST – As 2025 draws to a close, confusion around New Year’s week bank holidays has once again started doing the rounds. Social media, Messages, and posts are claiming that banks will remain shut across India for several days. But that is not what the RBI calendar shows. RBI, clear this doubt for bank customers.
After checking the official city-wise holiday lists recently released by the Reserve Bank of India for January 2026, as well as last December 2025. Easemoney finds that bank closures during New Year week are limited and mostly region-based, not full nationwide, unlike Jan 26 Republic Day.
If we said in a few words, Banks are NOT closed across India during the New Year week 2026. December 31, January 1 and Jan 2 affect only a few cities, but most of India sees normal banking operations, including the capital of india and top-tier cities such as Mumbai or Bangalore.
Let’s Break It Down, Date by Date
December 31, 2025 (Wednesday)
This is a holiday for fest: New Year’s Eve and Imoinu Iratpa.
As per the RBI holiday description, December 31 is a bank holiday only in two cities:
- Imphal (Manipur)
- Aizawl (Mizoram)
Banks remain open and work a proper timetable 10 to 4 PM (not fewer hours) in the rest of India, in all other cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Pune and major cities. We can say – this is a regional holiday, not a year-end nationwide shutdown.
January 1, 2026 (Thursday)
Holiday For New Year’s Day, And Also, Gaan-Ngai. It is the biggest annual post-harvest festival in Manipur, Assam, and Nagaland.
January 1 is not a national bank holiday.
Banks are closed only in the following cities, as per the RBI’s January 2026 list:
- Aizawl
- Chennai
- Gangtok
- Imphal
- Itanagar
- Kohima
- Kolkata
- Shillong
The other major banking hubs, such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh, have branches that remain operational as normal.
January 2, 2026 (Friday)
Holiday: New Year Celebration, also Mannam Jayanthi, an annual regional holiday in Kerala
This is a very limited regional holiday.
Banks are closed only on:
- Aizawl (Mizoram)
- Kochi (Kerala)
- Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)
All other cities follow normal working hours.
January 3, 2026 (Saturday)
- No RBI-declared holiday
- Banks operate as per regular Saturday rules (second and fourth Saturdays off)
January 4, 2026 (Sunday)
- Weekly holiday
- Banks closed across India
Why There Is So Much Confusion Every Year
Easemoney’s review shows three main reasons:
- People assume New Year’s Day = a national bank holiday
- RBI holidays are city-based, not state-wide
- Holiday tables are shared without reading the holiday description row
The result is really crazy, even when banks are actually open.
What Customers Should Do
- Check your city, not just the date
- Plan branch visits normally if you are outside the affected centres
- Use UPI, mobile banking, net banking, Online RTGS, and ATMs, which remain functional
- Don’t delay work. Also, do not assume a nationwide shutdown
Easemoney View
“New Year week 2026 is being overhyped as a long bank shutdown.
In reality, only a handful of cities observe holidays on Dec 31, Jan 1 and Jan 2.
Most of India sees normal banking operations.”
Stories – RBI Releases 2026 Bank Holiday List – How Many Days Will Banks Be Closed Next Year?
