Cabinet Approves PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme To Provide Financial Support To Meritorious Students

The cabinet has approved a central sector scheme PM-Vidyalaxmi to provide financial support to meritorious students to avoid financial constraints to prevent any youth of India from pursuing quality higher education. The scheme seeks to provide support to students who get admission to a Quality Higher Education Institution. Students can apply via a unified portal ‘PM-Vidyalaxmi’ for education loans as well as submit requests for disbursement of interest subvention.

Students will become eligible to get collateral-free, guarantor-free loans from banks and financial institutions to cover the full amount of tuition fees and other course-related expenditures.

The decision extends the education loans to meritorious students who get admission in the top 860 quality higher education institutions of the nation, translating to covering more than 22 lakh students every year.

A loan amount of up to Rs 7.5 lakh will be given with as 75% credit guarantee support by the government to support banks to expand coverage. The scheme will be administered through a simple, transparent, and student-friendly system that will be inter-operable and entirely digital.

3% interest subvention for loan up to 10 lakh during moratorium period for students with annual family income of up to Rs 8 lakhs and not eligible for benefits under any other govt scholarship or interest subvention schemes will be given.

Outlay of Rs 3,600 crore has been made during 2024-25 to 2030-31 expected to benefit 7 lakh new students.