The Union Cabinet has approved PM Vidyalaxmi a new central sector scheme that seeks to provide financial support to middle class students so that financial constraints do not prevent anyone from pursuing higher studies. Pm Vidyalaxmi is another key initiative stemming out of the National Education Policy 2020 which had recommended that financial assistance should be may developable to middle class student through various measure both public and privet institutions.
PM Vidyalaxmi Yojana
Under the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme, any student who gets admission in the quality higher education institution will be eligible to get college free guarantor free loan from banks and financial institutions to cover full amount of tuition fees and other expenses related to the cause. The scheme will be administered through a simple, transparent and student-friendly system that will be inter-operable and intuitively digital. The scheme will be applicable to top quality higher educational institutions of the nation as determined by the NIRF Rankings including all higher educational institutions, government and private, that are ranked within the top 100 in NIRF in overall category specific and domain specific rankings.
State Government higher education institutions ranked in 101 to 200 in NIRF and all Central Government Institutions. This list will be updated every year using the latest rankings and to begin with it starts with 860 qualifying institutions covering more than 22 lakh students to be able to potentially avail benefits of PM Vidyalaxmi if they so desire. For loan up to Rs. 7.5 lakh. The student will also be eligible for a credit guarantee of 75% of outstanding default. This will give support to banks in making education loans available to students under the scheme. In addition to the above for students having an annual family income of up to Rs. 8 lakh and not eligible for benefits under any other Government scholarship and inter subvention schemes 3% Inter subvention for loan up to Rs. 10 lakh will also be provided during the moratorium period. The inter subvention support will be given to 1 lakh students every year. Preference will given to students who are from the government institution and have opted for techical and professional courses. An outlay of 3600 crore have been made during 2024-25 to 2030-31 and 7 lakh fresh students are expected to get the benefit of this interest subsidy during the period. The Department of Higher Education will have a unified portal PM Vidyalaxmi on which students will be able to apply for education loan as well as inter subvention trough a simplified application process to be used by all banks. Payment of inter subvention will be made through E-Vouchers and Central Bank digital currency and CBDC wallets.
PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme:Who can apply?
The scheme will be available to India's top quality higher education institutions based on NIRF rankings. Eligible institutions include all government and private education institutes ranked within the top 100 across overall category specific and domain specific rankings as well as the State Government Institutions and all institutions governed by the Central Government. Initially 860 qualifying institutions covering more than 2.2 million students will be included in PM Vidyalaxmi provide potential access to benefits for interested students. For loans up to 7.5 lakh, students can receive a 75% credit guarantee on outstanding defaults supporting banks that provide these education loans under the scheme. Students with for other government scholsrships or interest subsidies, can receive a 3% interest subsidy on loans up to Rs 10 lakh during the moratorium period. A budget of 3600 crore has been allocated for 2024-25 and 2030-31 with 7 lakh new students expected to benefit from the interest subsidy over this period.
PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme: How can you apply?
The Department of Higher Education will launch a unified portal PM Vidyalaxmi where students can apply for education loans and interest subsidies through a streamlined application process accessible to all banks. The interest subsidy will be disbursed via- E-Vouchers and Central Bank Digital Currency Wallets.
Application to Vidyalaxmi scheme can be done using these steps.
Step 1:The applicant will have to register and login to Vidyalaxmi portal.
Step 2: Fill-up the common education loan application form by providing all the necessary details.
Step 3: After filing the form, the applicant can search for education loan and apply as per his/her needs, eligibility and convenience.
Alternatively, the applicant can also search for Educational Loan after login and apply for the suitable Educational Loan by filing the CELAF.
Can student register multiple times on Vidyalaxmi?
Multiple accounts for student is not allowed in Vidyalaxmi portal. Student can register only once on Vidyalaxmi portal.
How will you know once the educational loan is approved?
The bank will mark the loan application status to on hold when the bank requires some further information or documents to be submitted by the student. The requirement will be indicated in the Remarks column and Student can check the same in the dashboard.
How can you reapply for Education Loan?
To edit the loan application form and reapply to the same scheme again, request all applied banks to close/reject your application on Vidyalaxmi. Once all applications get closed/rejected, 'Reapply for new loan scheme' opton would get enabled in loan application form tab.
PM Vidyalaxmi will build on and further enhance the scope and reach of the range of initiatives undertaken by the Government of Indian. Over the past decade in the domain of education and financial inclusion for maximizing access to quality higher education for the youth of India. This will supplement the Central Sector Interest Subsidy and Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for education loans. The two component schemes of PM USP being implemented by The Department of Higher Education. PM Vidyalaxmi will provide holistic support to all deserving students to pursue higher education in quality higher education institutes and technical and professional education in approved higher education institutes.
By Anil Paal
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