The Cabinet approves the PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme for student loans

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme to provide financial assistance to meritorious students so that financial constraints do not deter them from pursuing quality higher education, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

Under the scheme, anyone who gets admission into Quality Higher Education Institutions (QHEIs) is eligible for a loan without collateral and without guarantee from banks and financial institutions to cover the entire amount of tuition fees and other expenses related to the course.

“The Cabinet has approved the PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme to provide financial assistance to deserving students so that financial constraints do not prevent any Indian youth from pursuing quality higher education,” Vaishnaw said at a press conference.

The scheme will apply to the top QHEIs as determined by the NIRF rankings – including all HEIs, government and private, which are ranked in the top 100 by NIRF in overall, category-specific and domain-specific rankings, state government higher education institutions ranked in 101-200 in the NIRF and all Central Government run institutions.

“This list will be updated every year based on the latest NIRF rankings, and starting with 860 eligible QHEIs, covering over 22 lakh students to potentially avail the benefits of PM-Vidyalaxmi, if they wish,” an official statement said. .