Bank Holiday Today On Mahavir Jayanti: Are Banks Open Or Closed On 31 March?

It is the last day of the 2025-26 financial year and the busiest one for banks across the country. As a result, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed all agency banks to ensure they remain open today (Tuesday, March 31, 2026) even though several states are observing a holiday to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti.

The RBI had informed about the same almost two months ago in a statement issued on February 03. "The Government of India has made a request to keep all branches of the banks dealing with Government receipts and payments open for transactions on March 31, 2026 (Tuesday, Public Holiday) so as to account for all the Government transactions relating to receipts and payments in the Financial Year 2025-26 itself. Accordingly, Agency Banks are advised to keep all their branches dealing with government business open on March 31, 2026 (Tuesday)," the RBI said in its statement.

What are agency banks?

As per the RBI, agency banks are specific commercial banks appointed under Section 45 of the RBI Act, 1934, to conduct government transactions on behalf of the central bank. These banks handle general banking business for central and state governments, including revenue collections and payments.

All public sector banks and select private sector banks act as agents for the RBI. The RBI pays these banks a commission, known as agency commission, for handling government transactions.

Public sector banks like State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, among others and private sector banks like Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank serve as agency banks.

Mahavir Jayanti

Mahavir Jayanti is the most important religious festival for Jains, with several states marking it as a holiday. Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka, Delhi (NCR), Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh observe Mahavir Jayanti as a holiday. The Karnataka government advanced the public holiday date for Mahavir Jayanti and said the state will observe the festival on Monday, 30 March.

While banks in all the above states were supposed to be closed on March 31, 2026, they remain open in view of the RBI notice. ​Customers can also continue to use online and mobile banking services for transactions.

Stock Market Open or Closed Today

Indian stock, foreign exchange, commodities and bullion markets are closed today on account of Mahavir Jayanti. Today is also a settlement holiday, meaning any fund or stock settlements scheduled for today will be delayed by one working day.

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