Lok Sabha Question No. 3537 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-15
Subject: Education Loans
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Nishikant  Dubey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3537

ANSWERED ON THE 15 th  JULY, 2019, ASHADHA 24, 1941 (SAKA)

## EDUCATION LOANS

## 3537. DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of students, belonging to weaker sections of rural areas who have availed  education  loans  during  the  last  three  years,  the  details  thereof,  State-wise including Jharkhand; and
- (b) the  details  of  the  steps  taken  by  Government  for  the  students  belonging  to weaker sections of rural areas?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR)

- (a) and  (b)  :  As  per  the  information  provided  by  Public  Sector  Banks,  State-wise details  of  students  belonging  to  weaker  sections  of  rural  areas  who  have  been sanctioned education loan during the last three years are given in the Annexure.

Steps being taken by the Government for the students including those belonging to the weaker sections in rural areas, interalia, include:

- (i) To encourage lending including education loans to SC/ST, Reserve Bank of India  periodically,  issues  instructions  /  directives  to  banks  with  regard  to  providing credit  facilities  to  Scheduled  Castes  (SCs)  and  Scheduled  Tribes  (STs)  with  an objective  to  raise  the  socio-economic  level  of  these  communities.  Further,  the rejection of applications in respect of SCs/STs has to be done at higher level instead of at the branch level.
- (ii) A  Central  Sector  Interest  Subsidy  (CSIS)  Scheme  is  administered  by  the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Under the scheme full interest subsidy is available for the students belonging to economically weaker sections, for studies in India, for educational loans disbursed on or after 1 st  April, 2009 during the period of moratorium.
- (iii) Padho Pardesh Scheme (effective from the year 2013-14) is administered by the  Ministry  of  Minority  Affairs.  The  objective  of  the  scheme  is  to  award  interest subsidy to meritorious students belonging to economically weaker sections of notified minority communities for overseas studies.

(iv) Dr Ambedkar Central Sector Scheme of Interest Subsidy on Educational Loan for Overseas Studies for Other Backward Classes (effective from the year 2014-15) is  administered  by  the  Ministry  of  Social  Justice  and  Empowerment.  Under  the scheme, interest payable by the students for the period of moratorium is borne by the Government.

- (v) A  Credit  Guarantee  Fund  Scheme  for  Educational  Loans  (CGFSEL)  was launched in 2015 wherein collateral free loan is given upto Rs 7.5 lakh. Interest rate charged  by  the  Member  Lending  Institutions  (MLIs)  should  be  maximum  upto  2% over the base rate.
- (vi) All banks are mandated not to accept collateral security for educational loans upto Rs 4 lakh as per Indian Banks' Association (IBA) Model Scheme.
- (vii) Reserve Bank of India has advised Banks not to reject any educational loan applications  for  reasons  that  the  residence  of  the  borrower  does  not  fall  under  the banks' service area.

(viii) In order to facilitate easy processing and disbursal of loans, Government has launched  a  web-based  portal  namely,  Vidya  Lakshmi  Portal.  Students  can  view, apply and track the education loan applications online by accessing the portal.

(ix) As  per  RBI  guidelines  effective  from  23rd  April,  2015,  loan  to  Individual  for educational purposes including Vocational Courses upto Rs 10 lakh irrespective of the sanction amount will be eligible for Priority Sector Lending.

******

## Annexure to   reply of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3537 for answer on 15.07.2019

State-wise number of students belonging to weaker sections of rural areas who have been sanctioned educational loans by PSBs during the last three years

| States                   | Year    | Year    | Year    |
|--------------------------|---------|---------|---------|
|                          | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
| Andaman & Nicobar Island | 6       | 1       | 7       |
| Andhra Pradesh           | 1488    | 1859    | 1731    |
| Arunachal Pradesh        | 8       | 17      | 20      |
| Assam                    | 220     | 232     | 250     |
| Bihar                    | 1241    | 2383    | 1707    |
| Chandigarh               | 8       | 4       | 15      |
| Chattisgarh              | 314     | 333     | 434     |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli     | 0       | 4       | 1       |
| Daman & Diu              | 0       | 0       | 3       |
| Delhi                    | 72      | 42      | 120     |
| Goa                      | 90      | 96      | 99      |
| Gujarat                  | 413     | 489     | 498     |
| Haryana                  | 490     | 471     | 449     |
| Himachal Pradesh         | 255     | 333     | 279     |
| Jammu & Kashmir          | 14      | 9       | 16      |
| Jharkhand                | 974     | 893     | 863     |
| Karnataka                | 3810    | 4067    | 4493    |
| Kerala                   | 731     | 991     | 1899    |
| Lakshadweep              | 26      | 21      | 11      |
| Madhya Pradesh           | 1110    | 1169    | 1426    |
| Maharashtra              | 5882    | 5541    | 5063    |
| Manipur                  | 20      | 40      | 30      |
| Meghalaya                | 39      | 14      | 17      |
| Mizoram                  | 8       | 2       | 2       |
| Nagaland                 | 7       | 5       | 6       |
| Orissa                   | 1589    | 1176    | 1255    |
| Puducherry               | 87      | 89      | 90      |
| Punjab                   | 436     | 540     | 572     |
| Rajasthan                | 466     | 544     | 465     |
| Sikkim                   | 11      | 10      | 17      |
| Tamil Nadu               | 8162    | 6748    | 6940    |
| Telangana                | 501     | 675     | 716     |
| Tripura                  | 45      | 40      | 64      |
| Uttarakhand              | 624     | 566     | 985     |
| Uttar Pradesh            | 1088    | 1030    | 710     |
| West Bengal              | 1146    | 1147    | 1337    |
| TOTAL                    | 31381   | 31581   | 32590   |