PM Vidyalaxmi
Context:
Recently, the Union Cabinet approved a new Central Sector Scheme, PM Vidyalaxmi. The scheme seeks to provide financial support to meritorious students applying for higher education.
Relevance:
GS-02 (Government policies and interventions)
About the scheme:
- The scheme aligns with the NEP 2020 and aims to provide 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 government would use the data from the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) that provides admission details of students in 860 quality higher education institutions.
- The scheme plans to cover 22 lakh students.
- In order to apply, the Department of Higher Education will launch the “PM-Vidyalaxmi” portal for students to avail for education loans and interest subvention. The payments shall be made via e-vouchers and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets.
- The scheme supplements the two components, Credit Guarantee Fund for Education Loans (CGFSEL) and Central Sector Interest Subsidy (CSIS), under the existing PM-Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan (PM-USP) scheme.
- 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 pursuing technical courses.
