Kumar Bahukhandi
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved PM Vidyalakshmi Scheme . The scheme aims to provide financial assistance to meritorious students so that financial constraints do not prevent anyone from pursuing higher studies. PM Vidyalakshmi is another important initiative arising from the National Education Policy, 2020, which recommended that financial assistance should be provided to meritorious students through various measures in both public and private higher education institutions.
Under the PM Vidyalakshmi Yojana, any student admitted to a Quality Higher Education Institution (QHEI) will be eligible to receive a loan without any collateral or guarantor from banks and financial institutions to cover the full amount of tuition fees and other course-related expenses. The scheme will be operated through a simple, transparent and student-friendly system, which will be completely digital.
The scheme will apply to the highest quality higher education institutions in the country, as determined by the NIRF rankings – including all higher education institutions, government and private, ranked in the top 100 in NIRF in overall, category-specific and domain specific rankings; state government higher education institutions ranked 101-200 in NIRF and all central government-run institutions. This list will be updated every year using the latest NIRF rankings. It will start with 860 eligible QHEIs, covering over 22 lakh students.
The student will also be eligible for a credit guarantee of 75% of the outstanding default for loan amount up to Rs 7.5 lakh. This will help banks in providing education loans to students under the scheme.
Additionally, students whose annual family income is up to Rs 8 lakh, and who are not eligible for benefits under any other government scholarship or interest waiver scheme, will also be provided 3 per cent interest waiver on loans up to Rs 10 lakh during the loan moratorium period. Interest waiver assistance will be given to one lakh students every year. Priority will be given to students who are from government institutions and who have opted for technical/professional courses.
The Higher Education Department will have an integrated portal “PM-Vidyalakshmi” on which students will be able to apply for education loan as well as interest waiver through a simplified application process used by all banks. The interest subsidy will be paid through e-vouchers and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets.
PM VidyaLakshmi will build upon and expand the range of initiatives undertaken by the Government of India over the last decade in the field of education and financial inclusion to maximize access to quality higher education for the youth of India.
It will complement the two schemes of PM-USP, Central Sector Interest Subsidy (CSIS) and Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loans (CGFSEL), being implemented by the Department of Higher Education.
Under PM-USP CSIS, students with annual family income up to ₹4.5 lakh and pursuing technical/professional courses from approved institutions get full interest subsidy during the moratorium period for education loans up to ₹10 lakh. Thus, PM Vidyalakshmi and PM-USP together will provide holistic support to all eligible students to pursue higher education in quality higher education institutions and technical/vocational education in approved higher education institutions.
