Pradhan Mantri Vidyalaxmi Scheme

 

Introduction

- The Pradhan Mantri Vidyalaxmi scheme is a recent initiative that has received approval from the Union Cabinet.

- The primary intention of this scheme is to provide financial assistance to meritorious students for higher education.

 

Alignment With National Education Policy 2020

- The scheme closely aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

- It strives to offer collateral-free, guarantor-free loans to students.

 

Eligibility Criteria & Beneficiaries

- Eligible candidates for this scheme are students enrolled in institutions ranked within the top 100 by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).

- Also, students studying in the institutions falling in the 101-200 rank spectrum operated by state and central government can participate in the scheme.

- With this scheme, over 22 lakh students stand to benefit.

- The beneficiary list will be updated annually based on the latest NIRF rankings.

 

Application Procedure

- The Department of Higher Education will facilitate the launch of the "PM-Vidyalaxmi" portal.

- This online platform will allow eligible students to apply for education loans and interest subvention.

- Payments under the scheme will be made through E-voucher and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets.

 

Supplementing Existing Schemes

- The PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme is designed to complement the Credit Guarantee Fund for Education Loans (CGFSEL) and Central Sector Interest Subsidy (CSIS).

- These two components are already embedded in the existing PM-Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) scheme.

- The PM-USP CSIS offers full interest subvention for loans up to Rs 10 lakh to students with family income up to Rs 4.5 lakh, specifically those pursuing technical courses.