Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) has requested the Chief Secretary K Vijayanand to rationalise and synchronise holidays declared under various departments and Acts.

AP Chambers president Potluri Bhaskara Rao said in a statement here on Sunday that currently, different departments — including the Labour Department (under the Shops and Establishments Act), Factories Act, General Administration Department (for Government Holidays), and the Reserve Bank of India (for Bank Holidays under the Negotiable Instruments Act) — issue separate holiday lists. This leads to discrepancies in the number and dates of holidays, creating confusion and operational challenges for businesses, industries, and financial institutions.

AP Chambers has highlighted that many holidays are not universally relevant but result in complete closures of offices, banks, and industries. The Federation noted that such non-uniformity affects business continuity, reduces the number of working days, and causes significant productivity loss, especially for MSMEs and service sectors that rely on consistent banking and logistical operations.

In its representation, AP Chambers proposed the key measures including preparation of a unified State Holiday Calendar applicable across departments, with only limited sector-specific variations, classification of holidays into three categories—mandatory national holidays (Republic Day, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti), optional/restricted holidays (employees may choose 2–3 based on their faith or tradition) and sector-specific holidays (applicable to specific categories such as May Day for industrial units).

The Chambers also proposed rationalisation of the overall number of general holidays to ensure higher productivity, synchronisation of holidays across government, banking, and private sectors to avoid delays in business transactions and digital publication of a single consolidated holiday calendar through a unified government portal for transparency and easy access.

AP Chambers emphasized that such reform will promote ease of doing business, enhance operational efficiency, and support economic productivity across the State.