Bank Holidays, Lok Sabha Election, Akshaya Tritiya: Banks Closed For Five Days This Week; Check City-Wise List

The start of this week is packed with back-to-back holidays for bankers. To be precise, banks across various cities in India will be closed for five days this week, starting from May 7th due to the Lok Sabha General Elections 2024. Banks will also be closed on May 8th and May 10th, followed by a relaxing weekend. It surely is a week to plan a trip!

RBI decides the bank holidays in India, and all public sector banks follow suit including private banks as well.

Here are the dates when banks will be closed and in which regions this week:

May 7:

RBI has declared key phases of the Lok Sabha election 2024 to be a bank holiday already.

Hence, on May 7th, a total of 94 Lok Sabha constituencies will be going to the polls as part of the third phase of the Election. That is why, banks will be closed on May 7th.

On Tuesday, banks will be closed in Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Panaji, and Raipur.

May 8:

On Wednesday, banks will be closed due to the celebration of Rabindranath Tagore's birthday. As per RBI, banks in Kolkata will be shut due to the occasion.

May 10:

Further, on Friday, banks will be closed due to the occasion of Basava Jayanti/Akshaya Tritiya. Majorly, it will be a bank holiday in Bengaluru.

May 11 And May 12:

Banks are usually closed on the second and fourth Saturday of every month by default. May 11 falls as the second Saturday of the month and hence banks all over India will be closed. While May 12 which is Sunday is a fixed holiday.

Hence, you might to note down this bank holidays if you're planning to visit your bank branches this week for any financial transactions.

Digitalisation has made it very easy to carry out banking transactions through mobile phones, ATMs, and the Internet. However, there are still several reasons to visit banks' branches such as transactions related to high amounts beyond maximum limits, foreign exchange transactions, queries and procedures related to accounts in other banks, loan closure or payments, and guidance or help related to bank accounts among others.

RBI segregates bank holidays into three categories such as Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, Banks' Closing of Accounts, Holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, and Real Time Gross Settlement Holidays.

In May, there are a total of 9 special holidays for banks excluding the second and fourth Saturdays and four Sundays.

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.

Bank holidays in India 2024, vary from state-to-state and city-to-city.