New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved PM Vidyalaxmi, a new Central Sector scheme that seeks to provide financial support to meritorious students so that financial constraints do not prevent anyone from pursuing higher studies. PM Vidyalaxmi is another key initiative from the National Education Policy, 2020, which recommended that financial assistance be made available to meritorious students through various measures in both public and private HEIs. Under the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme, any student who gets admission to a quality Higher Education Institution (QHEI) will be eligible to get collateral-free, guarantor-free loans from banks and financial institutions to cover the full amount of tuition fees and other expenses related to the course. The scheme will be administered through a simple, transparent, and student-friendly system that will be interoperable and entirely digital.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) issued a press release regarding the launch of the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme on November 6, 2024.
The scheme will apply to the top quality higher educational institutions of the nation, as determined by the NIRF rankings – including all HEIs, government and private, that are ranked within the top 100 in NIRF in overall, category-specific and domain-specific rankings; state government HEIs ranked in 101-200 in NIRF and all central government governed institutions. This list will be updated every year using the latest NIRF ranking, and to start with 860 qualifying QHEIs, covering more than 22 lakh students to be able to potentially avail benefits of PM-Vidyalaxmi; if they so desire.
For loan amounts up to ₹ 7.5 lakhs, 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 ₹ 8 lakhs, and not eligible for benefits under any other government scholarship or interest subvention schemes, 3 percent interest subvention for loans up to ₹ 10 lakhs will also be provided during the moratorium period. The interest subvention support will be given to one lakh students every year. Preference will be given to students who are from government institutions and have opted for technical/ professional courses. An outlay of ₹ 3,600 Crore has been made during 2024-25 to 2030-31, and 7 lakh fresh students are expected to get the benefit of this interest subvention during the period.
The Department of Higher Education will have a unified portal “PM-Vidyalaxmi” on which students will be able to apply for the education loan as well as interest subvention, through a simplified application process to be used by all banks. Payment of interest subvention will be made through E-vouchers and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets.
PM Vidyalaxmi will build on and further enhance the scope and reach of the range of initiatives undertaken by the Government of India over the past decade in the domains 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 (CSIS) and Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loans (CGFSEL), the two-component schemes of PM-USP, being implemented by the Department of Higher Education. Under the PM-USP CSIS, students with annual family income up to ₹ 4.5 lakhs and pursuing technical/ professional courses from approved institutions get full interest subvention during the moratorium period for education loans up to ₹ 10 lakhs. Thus, PM Vidyalaxmi and PM-USP will together provide holistic support to all deserving students to pursue higher education in quality HEIs and technical/ professional education in approved HEIs.
