Empowering Education: PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme Launched

The Union Cabinet has greenlit the PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme to aid meritorious students financially. The initiative provides collateral-free loans for tuition and expenses, with a Rs 3,600 crore budget, covering top QHEIs. Preference is given to those in technical courses with provisions for interest subventions.

The Union Cabinet has approved the PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme to offer financial support to meritorious students, ensuring no youth is hindered from accessing quality higher education due to financial constraints, announced Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Under this initiative, students securing admissions in the top 860 Quality Higher Education Institutions (QHEIs), as per the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), can avail collateral-free education loans from banks to cover full tuition fees and related expenses. This ambitious scheme, with a financial outlay of Rs 3,600 crore, aims to reach out to over 22 lakh students annually.

A notable provision includes a 75% credit guarantee for loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh and a 3% interest subvention on loans up to Rs 10 lakh for one lakh eligible students per year. A unified portal, 'PM-Vidyalaxmi', will facilitate the application process. The scheme is set to empower students from government institutions pursuing technical and professional courses.

(With inputs from agencies.)