PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme: Check who is eligible for financial support scheme

PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme: Who can apply?

The scheme will be available to India’s top-quality higher educational institutions (HEIs) based on NIRF rankings. Eligible institutions include all government and private HEIs ranked within the top 100 across overall, category-specific, and domain-specific NIRF rankings, as well as state government HEIs ranked between 101-200, and all institutions governed by the central government. This list will be refreshed annually with the latest NIRF rankings. Initially, 860 qualifying institutions, covering more than 2.2 million students, will be included in PM-Vidyalaxmi, providing potential access to benefits for interested students.

For loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh, students can receive a 75 per cent credit guarantee on outstanding defaults, supporting banks in providing these educational loans under the scheme.

Additionally, students with an annual family income of up to Rs 8 lakh, who are not eligible for other government scholarships or interest subsidies, can receive a 3 per cent interest subsidy on loans up to Rs 10 lakh during the moratorium period. This interest subsidy will be granted to 100,000 students each year, prioritising those from government institutions and those pursuing technical or professional courses. A budget of Rs 3,600 crore has been allocated for 2024-25 to 2030-31, with 7,00,000 new students expected to benefit from the interest subsidy over this period.

PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme: How to apply

The Department of Higher Education will launch a unified portal – PM-Vidyalaxmi, where students can apply for education loans and interest subsidies through a streamlined application process accessible to all banks. The interest subsidy will be disbursed via E-vouchers and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets.

Application to Vidyalaxmi Scheme can be done by following these steps:

Step 1: The applicant will have to register and login to Vidya Lakshmi portal
Step 2: Fill-up the Common Education Loan Application Form (CELAF) by providing all the necessary details
Step 3: After filling the form, the applicant can search for Educational Loan and apply as per his/her needs, eligibility and convenience

Alternatively, the applicant can also search for Educational Loan after login and apply for the suitable Educational Loan by filling the CELAF.

PM-Vidyalaxmi aims to expand and deepen the impact of the Government of India’s education and financial inclusion initiatives from the past decade, with a focus on broadening access to quality higher education for India’s youth. This initiative will complement the Central Sector Interest Subsidy (CSIS) and the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loans (CGFSEL), both part of the PM-USP, overseen by the Department of Higher Education.

Through the PM-USP CSIS, students with an annual family income of up to Rs 4.5 lakh who are enrolled in technical or professional courses at approved institutions can receive full interest subsidy on education loans of up to Rs 10 lakh during the moratorium period.