NEW DELHI: Banks are open and functioning normally across the country on Sunday, September 27, as the government takes steps to ensure “uninterrupted banking services” ahead of the proposed three-day nationwide strike from September 28 to 30.All public sector banks and regional rural banks will remain operational on Sunday, the ministry of finance said. The move comes as the strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) follows the weekend holidays on September 26 and 27.The decision is aimed at giving customers an additional working day and preventing an extended disruption in banking services.“In view of the proposed three-day nationwide bank strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) from September 28 to 30, 2026, coinciding with the preceding weekend holidays of September 26 and 27, the government has taken proactive steps to safeguard the banking needs of citizens,” the finance ministry said in a statement.“In order to ensure that the genuine banking needs of the public are not adversely affected for an extended period, all Public Sector Banks and Regional Rural Banks will function normally on Sunday, the 27th of September, 2026,” the ministry said.Are bank branches open today?Yes. Public sector banks and regional rural banks are operating normally on Sunday, September 27. The Reserve Bank of India has also approved the opening of bank branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and currency chests on the day, allowing them to remain fully operational.Bank of India has separately approved the operation of its branches, offices, ATM-linked branches and currency chests on Sunday.“The Department reiterates that the welfare and convenience of bank customers remains the Government’s foremost priority. The Government and bank managements have appealed to unions to defer the proposed strike, and have also taken measures to ensure that essential banking services continue un-interrupted,” the finance ministry said.Why are bank unions going on strike?The UFBU has called a nationwide strike from September 28 to 30, with five-day banking being its key demand. The unions have also sought improvements in pension benefits, a uniform dearness allowance formula for all pensioners and an option for employees covered under the National Pension System (NPS) to shift to the old pension scheme (OPS).The government has said it has already decided to keep the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in abeyance following discussions with the unions. The demand for a five-day banking week is still under consideration.The UFBU had also held a nationwide strike on September 11 over its demands. The unions have said they could reconsider the proposed strike if there is concrete progress on the five-day banking demand.“Responding to the appeal made by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), Bank managements to defer the strike, we informed them that if there is any concrete and positive development towards implementation of our demand for introduction of 5 days banking, UFBU will consider the same,” the UFBU said in a statement following a meeting with the deputy chief labour commissioner.A conciliation meeting on Tuesday ended without a resolution. The UFBU said that in the absence of concrete progress, it would be “constrained” to go ahead with the proposed strike on September 28, 29 and 30.The timing of the proposed strike is significant because September 30 is the half-yearly closing of banks. The period involves key operations such as reconciliation, provisioning, treasury and market activities.With the strike following the September 26-27 weekend holidays, customers could otherwise face an extended disruption in banking services. Keeping banks open on Sunday is therefore aimed at providing customers with an additional working day before the strike begins.
