Bank Holidays August 2022: Is today a bank holiday on the occasion of Janmashtami?

Following the extended holiday weekend leading up to Independence Day last week, people are also looking forward to the upcoming weekend with Janmashtami around the corner however, the question is whether it's a bank holiday on Friday, August 19, the auspicious day of Gokulashtami. It depends on which part of the country you reside.  

The government of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana announced a holiday for Janmashtami on August 19 and not August 18 as the festival falls on the 19th of the month. The RBI says as per the holiday calendar followed, most of the Public and Private banks will be closed on Janmashtami, August 19.

Going by the list of bank holidays as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), August 19 Friday on the day of Janmashtami (Shravan Vad-8)/Krishna Jayanthi - is a bank holiday in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Jammu, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, and Srinagar.

However, Banks in Delhi and a few other cities will not observe holidays during the Gokulashtami festival. Moreover, since Hyderabad will celebrate Janmashtami on August 20, banks in that region will not be operational on that day.  

Central government employees have an optional off on Janmashtami

As stated in the circular of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (Department of Personnel and Training), Janmashtami (Vaishnavi) has been put on the list of optional holidays. 

In a holiday-packed month, August has a total of 19 holidays with some specific to states and the rest are national Holidays. 

Janmashtami 2022 on 18th August or 19th august?

As per the Vedic panchang, the Tithi for the Janmashtami's Ashtami will start at 9.21 pm on August 18, 2022, and will continue till 10.59 pm on August 19, 2022. Thus, Janmashtami will be celebrated on both days while the Nishith Puja time begins at 12:02 am on August 18 and ends at 12:48 pm on the same day. The Ashtami Tithi will also have the Udaya Tithi on that particular day.

IMAGE: PTI