PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme: Know about the scheme, eligibility criteria and more
The scheme will be administered to students through a simple, transparent and student-friendly system that will be inter-operable and entirely digital.
Education is meant for all and financial burdens should not come in the way of students who aspire to study their choice of field. Owing to the high expenses incurred for educational purposes, many students give up on their dreams and aspirations.
Understanding the importance and need of students to pursue higher education, the Union Cabinet approved the PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme to provide monetary support to meritorious students so that financial constraints do not prevent them from pursuing quality education.
As per the government, there are 860 qualifying QHEIs and the scheme covers more than 22 lakh students who will be able to potentially avail benefits of PM-Vidyalaxmi. An outlay of ₹3,600 Crore has been made during 2024-25 to 2030-31 for the scheme.
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About PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme:
PM Vidyalaxmi is an initiative that stems out of the National Education Policy (NEP 2020). The policy recommended that financial assistance should be made available to meritorious students through various measures in both public and private HEIs.
The scheme will be administered to students through a simple, transparent and student-friendly system that will be inter-operable and entirely digital.
Eligibility Criteria:
Under the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme, any student who gets admission in a quality Higher Education Institution (QHEIs) 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.
Which colleges are covered under the scheme:
The scheme will be applicable to the top-quality higher educational institutions of the nation, as determined by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings.
This would include 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.
Details on financial assistance:
The following are the categories under which students will be provided financial assistance.
- For loan amounts up to ₹7.5 lakhs, a 75% credit guarantee will be provided by the Government of India. This is done to support banks to expand coverage for students.
- Further, for students with up to Rs. 8 lakhs annual family income, the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme will also provide for a 3% interest subvention on loans up to ₹10 lakh.
- 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.
For more information, visit the official website.
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