The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other banks in Maharashtra remained open on Thursday, despite the celebration of Anant Chaturdashi, due to a shift in public holidays announced by the state government. The Maharashtra government had initially declared Thursday, September 28, as a public holiday but later cancelled it in favor of Friday, September 29, which marks the occasion of Eid-e-Milad.
This decision was taken after a delegation from the All India Khilafat Committee met with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, expressing concerns over simultaneous processions for Anant Chaturdashi and Eid-e-Milad potentially stressing law enforcement agencies. The delegation included MP Rahul Shewale, MLA Abu Azmi and former minister Naseem Khan.
In response to these concerns, the Chief Minister appealed to citizens to exercise restraint and not overburden law enforcement agencies. He further announced that the state government would declare a public holiday on Friday, September 29, to better manage the processions for both religious events.
In addition to this change in public holidays, the RBI declared that government securities market, foreign exchange market, money market and rupee interest rate derivatives market would remain operational on both Thursday and Friday. This decision was made to ensure smooth functioning of financial markets and non-disruptive settlement of transactions, particularly in light of the quarter and half-year end.
Furthermore, the RBI stated that the settlement of the auction of Government of India treasury bills conducted on Wednesday would take place on Friday, September 29. It also announced that the auction of Government of India Dated Securities scheduled for September 29 would now be conducted on Thursday, with settlement taking place on Friday.
As a result of these changes, there will be two consecutive state holidays followed by the weekend and a national holiday on October 2 to mark Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary.
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