National News

PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme update

August 9 , 2026 9 hrs 0 min 8 0

PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme expands access to higher education with collateral-free loans, interest support.
It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education to provide collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans.
These loans can be accessed by all students admitted on merit to any designated Quality Higher Education Institution (QHEI) in India.
The scheme was launched to support the objectives of the National Education Policy, 2020 and Sustainable Development Goal 4, with its focus on inclusive and equitable access to quality education.
India’s higher education enrolment ratio has seen a remarkable increase from 23.7% in 2014-15 to 30% in 2023-24.
PM Vidyalaxmi covers higher education institutions in the top 100 of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in the overall, category-specific and domain-specific categories.
The education loans available under PM Vidyalaxmi do not have any upper limit, and the sanctioned amount depends on the course fee and other approved educational expenses.
The loan could cover tuition and institutional fees, hostel and mess charges, refundable and non-refundable fees charged by the institution, laptop and living expenses during the course.
The loans disbursed under PM Vidyalaxmi are provided through Scheduled Banks, Regional Rural Banks and Cooperative Banks.
The government also provides a 75% credit guarantee on loans up to Rs 7.5 lakhs.
Borrowers can also claim tax benefits on the interest that is paid under Section 80E.
PM Vidyalaxmi is not an isolated scheme and complements the existing Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme, or PM-USP CSIS.
The PM-USP CSIS covers loans for students with an annual family income of Rs 4.5 lakhs and may receive 100% interest subvention.