Ganesh Chaturthi 2022: Is it a bank holiday today?

Ganesh Chaturthi also known as Ganeshotsav is a 10-day festival which starts with Chaturthi Tithi and ends with Anantha Chaturdashi. This day is celebrated as the arrival of Lord Ganesh on earth from Kailash Parvat (Mount Kailash). The word Chaturthi means the fourth day of the Bhadrapada (sixth month of the Hindu calendar -- Bhadon month).

Devotees of Lord Ganesh, mark his birth during the Shukla Paksha of the Bhadrapada month. According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that the arrival of Ganpati (Lord Ganesh) removes all obstacles from our paths to success.

Ganesh Chaturthi is being marked on August 31 this year (i.e., today), which is a bank holiday in a number of states. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), it will be a bank holiday in seven states.

Banks are closed in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Goa. Banks in other states are remain open.

RBI's holiday calendar for September 2022 lists 7 bank holidays by state, excluding second Saturdays and Sundays. So, 11 holidays are due in September across various states. Kerala has the most holidays due to the festival of Onam.

Further, Indian equity benchmarks were closed today. According to information available on the NSE website, NSE will not conduct any trading for the entire session on Ganesh Chaturthi. Similarly, there will be no stock action on BSE on August 31, 2022, in the Equity Segment, Equity Derivative Segment, and SLB Segment.

Though, trading in the commodity derivatives segment will remain suspended in the morning session (9:00 am to 5:00 pm) and will resume in the evening session (5:00 pm to 11:30/11:55 pm) on August 31.