Bank Holiday, May 1: Banks Will Be Closed In These Cities On Wednesday, May 1; Check the Full List!

Indian public and private banks will be closed on Wednesday, May 1 for two reasons. Firstly, May 1 is a significant day in Maharashtra, while it is also observed as Labour Day Or May Day.

May 1 is also the start of the monthly holiday season of May 2024.

It is the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that decides the holidays for scheduled commercial banks. Bank holidays are segregated into three categories such as Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act; Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act and Real Time Gross Settlement Holidays; and Banks' Closing of Accounts.

As per RBI, banks in cities like Belapur, Bengaluru, Chennai, Guwahati, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Imphal, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Panaji, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram -- will be closed on May 1.

This is due to the occasion of Labour Day or May Day, and Maharashtra Din.

As per Wikipedia, Labour Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Day holiday or Maharashtra Din is a state holiday, signifying the formation of Maharashtra in the country on May 1, 1960.

During May, there is a total of 9 special holidays excluding the second and fourth Saturdays and four Sundays which are default holidays for the banks every month.

These 9 special holidays are --- Maharashtra Din/May Day (Labour Day) on May 1; Lok Sabha General Elections on May 7; Birthday of Rabindranath Tagore on May 8, Basava Jayanti/Akshaya Tritiyai on May 10, Lok Sabha General Elections on May 13, State Day on May 16, followed by another Lok Sabha General Elections holiday on May 20. Lastly, there is Buddha Pournima on May 23, and Nazrul Jayanti/Lok Sabha General Elections on May 25.