A claim circulating widely on social media alleging that all public sector banks, including the State Bank of India, would henceforth remain closed on every Saturday has been declared fabricated by the Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) Fact Check unit. The claim was accompanied by a purported gazette notification that gained significant traction online.
The notification, dated September 30, 2026, claimed that the Union Finance Ministry had ordered a blanket Saturday holiday for public sector banks. The document was crafted to resemble an official order, complete with a file number and the name of a supposed issuing authority. However, PIB Fact Check confirmed that no such notification was issued by the Finance Ministry and clarified that the gazette notification in circulation is entirely fake.
Under the policy currently in force, public sector banks observe holidays only on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, remaining operational on all other Saturdays. This system has been in place since 2015. Bank employee unions, however, have long demanded a transition to a five-day work week, with all Saturdays declared non-working days, and have continued to press the issue with authorities. The Indian Banks’ Association has also formally submitted a proposal to the central government in this regard, though no decision has yet been taken.
A Gazette circulating on social media , purportedly issued by the Ministry of Finance (Department of Financial Services), claims that the Central Government has declared every Saturday a public holiday for all Public Sector Banks , including SBI.#PIBFactCheck:
❌ The document… pic.twitter.com/ClCqEt2UAX
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) October 1, 2026
The central government has not, to date, announced any move to declare all Saturdays as holidays for banks. In view of the misleading claim, PIB has urged the public to disregard and refrain from forwarding the viral notification, stating that no such official order currently exists.