A lot is going on for the inauguration of the historical Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Many schools have declared holidays and many are giving a half-day leave to the employees on the auspicious day of January 22. Now it is said that the stock market will also remain closed on Monday.
Following the Maharashtra government’s declaration of a public holiday on Monday in honour of the Ram Temple consecration event in Ayodhya, the National Stock Exchange on Friday scheduled a trading holiday on January 22. The NSE announced in a circular that Monday will see the currency derivative section stay closed. Members are requested to note that the exchange shall be conducting regular trading sessions on Saturday, January 20, 2024, from the primary site in equity and equity derivatives segments as per regular market timings. Price bands applicable for normal trading days shall continue to remain applicable on January 20, 2024,” NSE said in its circular.
Public sector banks, insurance providers, financial institutions, and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) around the nation would all be closed for half a day on the same day.
The Reserve Bank of India has also announced that no trading will be done in government securities
Since the Maharashtra government has declared January 22 to be a public holiday, the Reserve Bank of India has announced that there would be no trading in government securities, foreign currency markets, money markets, or rupee interest rate futures on that day. The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, Section 25, has been invoked by the state government to declare January 22 a public holiday. “Settlement of all outstanding transactions will accordingly get postponed to the next working day i.e., January 23, 2024 (Tuesday),” the RBI said. The three-day variable rate repo (VRR) auction that the RBI held on Friday will now take place on January 23 instead of January 22, as planned. A two-day VRR auction is scheduled for January 23, in place of the three-day VRR auction that the RBI had previously said would take place on January 22.
“..on January 19, 2024 (Friday), an extra issue each of Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) and Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) with reversal on January 23, 2024 (Tuesday) is being made available,” the RBI said. VRR auctions are used by the RBI to inject liquidity into the banking system while the MSF and the SDF are central bank windows for banks to borrow funds and park funds, respectively.
The Pran Pratishtha event in Ayodhya is scheduled for January 22, and the Maharashtra government has proclaimed it a public holiday in the state. On Friday, the Maharashtra general administration department announced the public holiday in accordance with the national government’s decision to celebrate a half-day on the day of Ram Lalla’s ‘Pran Prathistha’ event.
By: Gursharan Kaur