Banks in many states will be closed today. May 1 marks the Labour Day holiday. May 1 is also a state holiday in Maharashtra for Maharashtra Day, or Maharashtra Diwas. With that, officials of some banks in the country have been enjoying a fourth consecutive day of holiday. Currently, banks across the country are closed on the second and fourth Saturday every month. April 28 was the fourth Saturday of the month. That was followed by a Sunday (April 29), Buddha Purnima (April 30) and Maharashtra Day or Labour Day today. Banks usually have their own calendar of holidays, which varies from state to state. Customers should check with their bank to check whether it is open today (May 1, 2018).
Meanwhile, the stock markets also were closed on Tuesday for Maharashtra Day. The interbank foreign exchange (forex) market, which was shut the previous day, was however open on Tuesday.
Here are five things to know about the four-day bank holiday (Labour Day on May 1) in some states:
1. Banks will take steps to keep ATMs replenished, a banker said. But internet banking and mobile banking will remain operational, he added.
2. However, not all banks in all the states were shut on Monday and Tuesday. Banking holidays are decided according to the Negotiable Instruments Act.
3. On Labour Day, May 1, Dhanlaxmi Bank branches in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Goa, and West Bengal will be closed, according to the bank's website - dhanbank.com.
4. On Buddha Purnima (April 30), banks in Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana were shut, according to Dhanlaxmi Bank.
5. Earlier this month, severe cash crunch was reported in some parts of the country. ATMs in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana went dry. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) then asked banks with surplus cash to help other banks facing shortage of funds.
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