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News: The Pradhan Mantri Vidyalaxmi Scheme is a flagship initiative of the Education Ministry that seeks to make quality higher education accessible to deserving students facing financial constraints.
About PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme
- Background: The PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme (PM-Vidyalaxmi) is rooted in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, underscores the policy’s emphasis on making financial aid available to deserving students in both public and private quality higher education institutions (QHEIs).
- Approved: The PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme (PM-Vidyalaxmi) was approved by the Union Cabinet on 6th November 2024.
- Aim: It seeks to provide financial support to meritorious students so that financial constraints do not prevent anyone from pursuing higher studies.
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Education
- Type: It is a Central Sector scheme.
- Financial outlay: The Government has allocated a budget of ₹ 3,600 Crores from 2024-2025 to 2030-2031 for the scheme.
- Features
- The scheme provides collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans for students admitted on their own merit to designated QHEIs in the country.
- Management quota, NRI quota, etc. admissions will not get this benefit.
- Benefits:
- Credit Guarantee: Loans up to ₹ 7.5 lakhs will have a 75% credit guarantee from the Government of India to support banks in offering coverage to more students.
- Interest Subvention Benefits: For Students with Annual Family Income up to ₹ 8 Lakhs:
- 3% interest subvention on loans up to ₹10 lakhs during the moratorium period.
- Priority for students from government institutions, especially those in technical/professional courses.
- For Students with Annual Family Income up to ₹ 4.5 Lakhs: Full interest subvention during the moratorium period on loans up to ₹ 10 lakhs under PM-USP.
- Interest subvention and credit guarantee benefits are available only once for undergraduate, postgraduate, or integrated courses.
- Eligibility Criteria for Students
- The scheme is available to students who have secured merit-based admission through competitive exams in any of the designated Quality Higher Education Institutions (QHEIs) in India.
- The scheme provides education loans for all degree and diploma courses.
- The repayment period of the education loan would be up to 15 years excluding the moratorium period (course period + 1 year).
- To avail all these benefits, students are required to register through Aadhaar, remain enrolled in their courses, and maintain a satisfactory academic performance.
- It covers 1 lakh students annually.
- Eligibility Criteria for Higher Education Institutions
- Top 100 ranked HEIs in the overall/ category-specific and/or domain-specific rankings in the latest list of NIRF published by the Ministry of Education
- Top 200 ranked HEIs under the governance of State/Union Territories governments in the latest list of NIRF published by the Ministry of Education
- All remaining HEIs under the governance of the Government of India.
- Not Covered: Indian campuses of foreign education institutions, foreign campuses of Indian education institutions and foreign education institutions are not covered under the scheme.
- PM Vidyalaxmi Digital Rupee App (CBDC Wallet):
- Once the loan is sanctioned and disbursed, eligible students can apply for interest subvention based on their family income.
- The subsidy amount is credited to the beneficiary’s PM Vidyalaxmi Digital Rupee App (CBDC Wallet) and subsequently transferred to the education loan account.
