New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has approved the PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme to provide financial aid to meritorious students facing financial issues that prevent them from pursuing higher education. Under the scheme, any student securing admission to Quality Higher Education Institutions (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.
The scheme will apply to the top QHEIs as determined by the NIRF rankings, including all Higher Education Institutions (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 the NIRF and all Central Government-run institutions.
Speaking at the cabinet briefing, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, stated- “Today, the cabinet approved PM Vidyalaxmi scheme. This scheme empowers the youth and the middle class. This scheme will ensure no meritorious student is denied higher education due to financial constraints. Under this scheme, in a very simple and transparent method, collateral-free and guarantor-free loans of up to Rs 10 lakhs with a good interest subsidy in a very convenient manner will be provided if the family income is less than Rs 8 lakhs.”
Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education added, “Universalising access to 21st century higher education for India’s talented youth is PM Modi’s guarantee. Hon’ble PM Narendra Modiji’s approval of PM Vidyalaxmi with an outlay of Rs 3,600 crore will remove obstacles to higher education and enable our Yuva Shakti to pursue their dreams. Collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans under PM Vidyalaxmi will maximize access to higher education for meritorious students and ensure that financial constraints do not prevent students from pursuing education.”
