A viral message claiming that banks across India will now remain closed on every Saturday has been circulating on social media, prompting questions over whether the banking sector has officially moved to a five-day work week. However, the claim is not supported by the latest official information from the Finance Ministry, which has clarified that no notification has been issued declaring all Saturdays as bank holidays.

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check has previously flagged similar claims about the immediate implementation of a five-day banking week as fake and misleading. Under the existing arrangement, the second and fourth Saturdays of every month are holidays for banks, while other Saturdays generally remain working days, subject to regional holidays and the applicable banking calendar. The Finance Ministry reiterated this position in its September 21 statement.

The demand for a five-day work week has been a long-standing issue raised by the United Forum of Bank Unions and other banking organisations. According to the Finance Ministry, the unions had raised two major demands — implementation of a five-day banking week and withdrawal of the Performance Linked Incentive scheme. The government subsequently decided to keep the PLI scheme in abeyance, while the proposal for a five-day banking week remained unresolved.

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The issue also featured in discussions around industrial action announced by banking organisations in September. The Finance Ministry stated that a nationwide three-day strike had been scheduled from September 28 to September 30. The government also made special arrangements around the proposed strike because September 27 was a Sunday immediately preceding the strike, while September 30 coincided with the half-yearly closing date for banks.

To prevent a prolonged disruption to banking services, public sector banks and regional rural banks were directed to function normally on the Sunday preceding the proposed strike. The ministry said the Reserve Bank of India had also approved the opening of bank branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and currency chests on that day. These arrangements were intended to maintain continuity of essential banking operations during the period.

For now, customers should continue to follow the applicable bank holiday calendar, under which the second and fourth Saturdays remain holidays along with Sundays and other notified public holidays. While the five-day banking week proposal may continue to be discussed between the government, banking authorities and employee organisations, any nationwide change to the existing Saturday working arrangement would require a formal official notification.

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