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Journalism of Courage
The Union government has discontinued the Padho Pardesh interest-subsidy scheme for minority students pursuing higher education abroad, with Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju informing Parliament that the scheme was found to have “limited benefits” and significant overlap with other ongoing programmes. Responding to a written question, Rijiju said the Ministry observed that students from minority communities already have access to low-interest education loans through the National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC), a PSU under the Ministry, reducing the need for a separate subsidy mechanism.
According to the Minister, the NMDFC offers educational loans specifically for overseas study at comparatively lower interest rates. Given this, along with duplication of benefits and the limited impact of Padho Pardesh, the scheme “has been discontinued from 2022-23”.
In comparison, other states recorded far smaller numbers.
Uttar Pradesh saw beneficiaries range between 21 and 36 annually, dropping to 15 in 2021-22.
Haryana registered very low participation, with yearly figures fluctuating between 12 and 20.
Bihar recorded single-digit or near-single-digit numbers throughout, with its highest count being just 12 students in 2019-20.
Tamil Nadu, another southern state, also saw moderate participation: its annual beneficiary count remained between 101 and 155, before declining to 108 in 2021-22.
| State | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
| Kerala | 415 | 679 | 688 | 715 | 1138 | 1734 | 2236 | 3359 |
| Tamil Nadu | 101 | 130 | 120 | 108 | 147 | 155 | 133 | 108 |
| Haryana | 18 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 12 |
| Bihar | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 8 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 21 | 35 | 35 | 33 | 31 | 36 | 30 | 15 |
| Total | 1,083 | 1,779 | 1,781 | 1,711 | 2,495 | 3,238 | 3,656 | 4,622 |
Across the last eight years for which data is available (2014-15 to 2021-22), a total of 20,365 students availed the Padho Pardesh interest subsidy.
Although the government cited “limited benefits” and scheme overlap as reasons for discontinuation, 2021-22 — the final year of disbursal— recorded the highest number of beneficiaries at 4,622, marking the programme’s peak usage before it was phased out.
