The Centre has sanctioned 1,12,817 collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans worth Rs 15,634.78 crore under the PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme since its launch in November 2024, the Ministry of Education informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Sharing the latest implementation status of the scheme, Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar, in a written reply, said the scheme aims to ensure that no eligible student is denied higher education due to financial constraints by offering collateral-free education loans to students securing merit-based admission in top quality higher education institutions.
Under the scheme, students with an annual family income of up to Rs 8 lakh are eligible for a 3% interest subvention on education loans of up to Rs 10 lakh. The government has earmarked Rs 3,600 crore between 2024-25 and 2030-31 to extend this benefit to up to seven lakh fresh students during the period.
The ministry said the PM-Vidyalaxmi portal, operational since February 25, 2025, enables students to apply for education loans and interest subvention through a common digital platform used by participating banks.
Separately, the government said that under the PM Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loans (PM-USP CGFSEL), 14,65,880 credit guarantees covering loans worth Rs 59,843.74 crore have been issued since the scheme was launched in 2015. The scheme provides a government guarantee of up to 75% of eligible education loans without collateral for loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh.
The ministry said Aadhaar-based de-duplication is used to verify beneficiaries receiving interest subvention. The subsidy amount is transferred through a digital wallet and credited directly to students’ education loan accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer after redemption. Continued support from the second year onwards is linked to satisfactory academic performance, with participating higher education institutions uploading semester-wise progress reports on the portal.
According to the government, 64 banks have been onboarded on the PM-Vidyalaxmi portal so far, including 12 public sector banks, 20 private banks, 25 regional rural banks and seven cooperative banks, to expand access to education loans across the country.
The ministry also said that scholarships and education loans have contributed to improving access to higher education, with the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) rising from 23.0 in 2013-14 to 30.0 in 2023-24.
