The Union Cabinet said yes to the PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme, which financially supports lakhs of students pursuing higher education. The students can learn everything about the scheme, its application process, and other relevant details here.
PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme
On Wednesday, the PM-Narendra Chaired Cabinet agreed to the new Central scheme PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme, which FM Nirmala Sitharaman has announced in the Union Budget. The scheme intends to remove the financial stress from the students and pursue higher education worry-free.
The scheme is another effort of the government developed from the 2020 National Education Policy to ensure students enrolled in the QHEIs (Quality Higher Education Institutions) can cover their tuition fees by easily getting guarantor-free and collateral-free loans.
The central government has allocated a budget of ₹3,600 crore for the financial year 2024-25 to 2030-31 and is estimated to provide support to around 7 lakh students over the years to make their dreams come true without worrying about financial burden. With this scheme, the government plans to help talented professionals who usually leave their dreams behind due to financial issues.
| Scheme | PM Vidya Laxmi Scheme |
| Approved by Union Cabinet on | 06 November 2024 |
| Purpose | To support young talents in pursuing higher education |
| Budget | ₹3,600 crore |
| PM Vidyalaxmi Portal | To-be- launched |
Who will be eligible for the PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme?
According to the scheme guidelines, the students who meet the below eligibility criteria can avail of the benefits of the PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme:
- All the students enrolled in private and public top-tier Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) ranked based on NIRF rankings.
- The top eligible institutes include the top 100 ranked institutes overall, domain-specific, and category-specific rankings, institutes that come under the control of central government and state government ranked HEIs between 101 and 200 rank.
The students should know the NIRF ranking changes every year, hence, based on the current standing, around 860 HEIs qualify under the scheme, which means the scheme will provide benefits to more than 2 million students.
PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme Benefits
Under the PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme, students can avail of the following benefits while pursuing professional courses:
- Students from eligible institutions can apply for loans up to ₹10 lakh for professional courses in the eligible institutions.
- The students will get a 3% interest subsidy on loans up to ₹10 lakh where the student’s annual household income is up to ₹8 lakh and do not receive any government-sponsored scholarship or interest subsidy. Each year, around 100,000 students will receive the interest subsidy, here the students from professional & technical courses and government institutions will get the first preference.
- The students can get a 75% credit guarantee on defaults for loans up to ₹7.5 lakh.
- Apart from the loan and interest subsidy, each year around one lakh students will receive the e-vouchers. The students will receive the interest subsidy via the CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) wallets or E-vouchers.
The PM Vidyalaxmi scheme will contribute to the government’s effort to empower youth with high-quality education and it will complement the PM-USP scheme, through which students with annual family income up to ₹4.5 lakh will be able to receive subsidy over full interest of their loan up to ₹10 lakh.
How to apply for the PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme?
The students studying in eligible institutions who need financial support will be able to apply through the PM Vidyalaxmi portal that will be launched soon. The students can apply for the interest subsidy and education loans through the portal in the participating banks.
The candidates have to first register on the unified portal and fill out the CELAF (Common Education Loan Application form) with the relevant details, such as educational institute, course, name, category, etc. Next, you can search for the education loan on the portal and easily apply for it.
The government has made the whole process digital and transparent to ensure it is convenient and easy for the students and they can easily access the PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme benefits.
PM Vidyalaxmi ensures that students have enough support to complete their higher education without worrying about financial issues. It’s an investment of the government for the future of India, where talented professionals have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams and contribute to the growth of India.
