Over 1.12 Lakh Students Receive PM-Vidyalaxmi Education Loans Worth ₹15,634 Crore Since Scheme Launch 

The Ministry of Education told Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the Government of India has sanctioned over 1.12 lakh collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans worth ₹15,634.78 crore under PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme.

This is the Central Sector Scheme, which was launched in November 2024 to ensure that no deserving child is unable to get higher education for financial reasons. The scheme offers education loans to students who have been admitted based on merits in Quality Higher Education Institutions (QHEIs) in the country.

Interest Subsidy for Families Earning Up to ₹8 Lakh

PM-Vidyalaxmi offers a subsidy of 3% interest on a loan for education up to ₹10 lakh for students from families with an income of up to ₹8 lakh per annum. For its support, the Central Government has set ₹3,600 crore for the interest subsidy component from 2024-25 to 2030-31 to benefit up to seven lakh fresh students.

The ministry also told Parliament that as many as one lakh fresh students annually who are not getting any other scholarship/loan interest subsidy on education benefits can avail the benefit.

Common Online Portal: Simplifies Loan Application

Since the launch on 25th February, 2025, the PM-Vidyalaxmi portal is a one-stop digital platform through which the student can now apply for education loans and interest subvention granted by the participating banks.

The Ministry says the platform has already enabled 64 banks, including public sector banks, private banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks, to be connected to facilitate students to apply for loans more conveniently across the country.

Interest Support Linked to Academic Performance

The government also pointed out that the benefits of interest subsidy is tied to student achievement. Eligible applications are initially de-duplicated on the basis of Aadhaar. The interest support is credited to a Digital Rupee wallet connected with the PM-Vidyalaxmi platform once approved. Once redeemed by the student, the sum is directly credited to the education loan account via DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) mechanism.

The interest subsidy is available for students only if their academic standing is satisfactory; this means that students will not receive the interest subsidy from the second year onward unless they have performed in a satisfactory manner academically. Finally, higher education institutions (HEIs) that have registered on the portal are responsible for uploading reports of academic progress on an institutional level for each semester in order to support monitoring.

Increasing access to higher education

The Ministry said that the various schemes like PM-Vidyalaxmi, education loan and scholarship programmes have been instrumental in increasing access to higher education in India.

According to the government's data, India's Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education has remained on the upward trend from 23.0% in 2013-14 to 30.0% in 2023-24, adding up to an effective overall rise in participation among students in the country's higher education system.

PM-Vidyalaxmi is proving to be one of the flagship schemes of the government to bring higher education within reach of the deserving students of India within a comparatively short span of time, having sanctioned more than 1.12 lakh education loans so far.