The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday for banks on March 31, 2025, to facilitate year-end financial transactions. However, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) will remain closed for trading
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As the financial year 2024-25 comes to a close, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that banks in India will remain open on Monday, March 31 2025, for special clearing operations. This move ensures that all government transactions are processed smoothly before the fiscal year ends.
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RBI cancels Eid-ul-Fitr bank holiday on March 31
Initially, March 31 was marked as a public holiday for banks across most states in observance of Eid-ul-Fitr. However, given that this date also coincides with the financial year-end, the RBI has issued a directive to keep banks operational. The decision is aimed at facilitating the seamless processing of government-related payments, tax collections, and financial settlements.
Under the new arrangement, all agency banks involved in government transactions will be required to operate as per normal working hours on March 31. Furthermore, the RBI has instructed these banks to conduct special clearing operations, specifically for government cheques, under the Cheque Truncation System (CTS).
Banking schedule and holiday adjustments
With the cancellation of the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, the banking schedule for the last week of March is as follows:
- Thursday, March 27: Banks were closed in some states due to Shab-e-Qadr.
- Friday, March 28: Regular banking operations continued.
- Saturday, March 29: Banks remained open as it was the fifth Saturday of the month.
- Sunday, March 30: Banks were closed as per the regular weekly off.
- Monday, March 31: Initially a scheduled holiday for Eid, but banks will now remain open for year-end financial activities.
RBI’s special clearing arrangement for government cheques
To expedite financial settlements before the fiscal year closes, the RBI has made the following provisions:
- Regular cheque clearing operations will follow the standard schedule applicable to a working Monday.
- A dedicated Special Clearing Session under CTS will be conducted exclusively for government cheque processing.
- Agency banks dealing with government transactions will remain operational until regular closing hours on March 31.
- The reporting window for tax-related transactions, including GST, TIN 2.0, ICEGATE, and State e-receipts, will be open until 12:00 noon on April 1, 2025.
Will the stock market remain open on March 31?
Unlike banks, the stock markets will remain closed on Monday, March 31, 2025, in observance of Eid-ul-Fitr. According to the holiday schedules of both the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE), trading will be suspended for the day.
This closure follows the regular weekend holiday on Saturday, March 29, and Sunday, March 30. Trading activities across all market segments, including equities, derivatives, currency markets, securities lending and borrowing (SLB), and electronic gold receipts (EGR), will resume on Tuesday April 1, 2025.
Upcoming market holidays in April 2025
For traders and investors, here are the scheduled stock market holidays in April:
Thursday, April 10: Mahavir Jayanti
Monday, April 14: Dr B.R. Ambedkar Jayanti
Friday, April 18: Good Friday
Additionally, later in the year, the Indian stock markets will observe closures for:
Maharashtra Day (May 1)
Independence Day (August 15)
Ganesh Chaturthi (August 27)
Gandhi Jayanti (October 2)
Dussehra (October 21-22)
Prakash Gurpurb (November 5)
Christmas (December 25).
Despite concerns over global trade policies, particularly regarding potential tariff changes by the United States, India’s stock markets ended the 2024-25 financial year on a positive note.
The BSE Sensex gained over 3,763 points (5.1 per cent) in FY25. The NSE Nifty recorded a rise of 1,192 points (5.34 per cent).
The total market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE grew by Rs 25.90 lakh crore, reaching Rs 4,12,87,646.50 crore (USD 4.82 trillion).
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