India is bracing for significant disruption on February 12, 2026, due to a nationwide strike, popularly known as Bharat Bandh. This coordinated protest, backed by a joint platform of ten central trade unions and various farmer organizations, expects over 30 crore workers to participate, marking it as one of the largest coordinated labor actions in recent memory.
The strike primarily protests government labor reforms and economic policies that unions claim weaken worker protections, dilute safeguards, and increase employer flexibility. Key concerns include privatization, stagnant wages, and inadequate social security. Farmer groups, including Samyukt Kisan Morcha, are supporting the strike to oppose a proposed interim India–US trade agreement, fearing harm to domestic agriculture from increased imports.
Citizens should prepare for widespread impact, particularly in banking operations, with major unions indicating participation. This may affect branch-level services like deposits, withdrawals, and cheque clearances. While public sector bank branches could see closures, digital banking, ATMs, and private banks are likely to continue, though with possible delays.
Services likely to be closed include public sector bank branches, government offices (high participation states), public transport in selected areas, educational institutions in some states, and markets/shops where protests are strong. Road blockades are also anticipated. Conversely, services expected to remain open are private offices, emergency services (hospitals, ambulances), airports, essential utilities, and digital banking platforms. Authorities advise citizens to complete essential transactions and travel arrangements beforehand to minimize inconvenience.