Lok Sabha Question No. 110 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Education Loan Subsidy for Minority Students
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: Mala Roy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 110 ANSWERED ON 02.02.2023

## EDUCATION LOAN SUBSIDY FOR MINORITY STUDENTS

## 110. SHRIMATI MALA ROY:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  withdraw  the  education  loan  subsidy  for  minority students to study abroad;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and

(c) if not, the number of beneficiaries during the last five years, State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a)  &  (b):  The  Government  has eased  the  norms  and  made  various  educational  loans  available easily to all students through Public Sector Banks in the recent past. As a result, educational loans up to ₹  7.50  lakh are  sanctioned  without  any  collateral  security  and  third-party  guarantee  by  a lending institution to the eligible borrower for higher education as per 'Indian Banks' Association Model  Educational  Loan  Scheme  for  pursuing  Higher  Education  in  India  and  Abroad'  and  is covered  under  the  'Credit  Guarantee  Fund  Scheme  for  Educational  Loans'  of  Department  of Higher Education.

In addition to this, National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC), a PSU under Ministry of Minority Affairs, also provides educational loan for education abroad, at low rate  of  interest,  exclusively  to  students  belonging  to  minority  communities.  It  has  also  been observed that benefits  of  interest  subsidy that  got  accrued  to  the  beneficiaries  under  the  Padho Pardesh scheme were limited and also that there is an apparent overlap with other similar schemes being  implemented  by  other  Ministries  which  are  applicable  to  eligible  minority  community students as well. In view of the aforesaid overlap, limited benefits and ease of availing education loans  on  low  rate  of  interest,  it  has  been  decided  to  discontinue  Padho  Pardesh  Scheme  from 2022-23 onward.

(c): State/UT-wise number of beneficiaries during last five years is annexed.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (C) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  110  FOR  02.02.2023  REGARDING  'EDUCATION  LOAN  SUBSIDY FOR MINORITY STUDENTS'

State/UT-wise number of beneficiaries under Padho Pardesh Scheme

| S. No.   | State/ UT        |   2017-18 |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 |
|----------|------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh   |        74 |        75 |        72 |        91 |        81 |
| 2        | Assam            |         7 |         7 |         5 |         6 |         1 |
| 3        | Bihar            |         2 |         8 |        12 |        11 |         8 |
| 4        | Chandigarh       |         4 |         5 |         4 |         3 |         2 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh     |        11 |        11 |         6 |         3 |         1 |
| 6        | Daman &Diu       |         0 |         1 |         2 |         0 |         0 |
| 7        | Delhi            |         7 |        12 |        20 |        19 |        13 |
| 8        | Goa              |         8 |        14 |        15 |        13 |         4 |
| 9        | Gujarat          |        91 |       120 |       129 |       103 |        82 |
| 10       | Haryana          |        13 |        17 |        15 |        14 |        12 |
| 11       | Himachal Pradesh |         2 |         2 |         3 |         1 |         0 |
| 12       | Jammu & Kashmir  |        28 |        72 |        80 |       132 |       202 |
| 13       | Jharkhand        |         0 |         3 |         8 |         8 |         6 |
| 14       | Karnataka        |       129 |       211 |       289 |       275 |       229 |
| 15       | Kerala           |       715 |      1138 |      1734 |      2236 |      3359 |
| 16       | Madhya Pradesh   |        74 |       101 |       106 |        82 |        51 |
| 17       | Maharashtra      |       250 |       297 |       322 |       300 |       265 |
| 18       | Meghalaya        |         1 |         2 |         1 |         0 |         0 |
| 19       | Mizoram          |         0 |         2 |         1 |         0 |         0 |
| 20       | Odisha           |         2 |         5 |         7 |         4 |         5 |
| 21       | Puducherry       |         1 |         5 |        11 |        12 |         9 |
| 22       | Punjab           |        58 |        81 |        82 |        59 |        74 |
| 23       | Rajasthan        |        25 |        37 |        32 |        27 |        24 |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu       |       108 |       147 |       155 |       133 |       108 |
| 25       | Telangana        |        57 |        79 |        72 |        63 |        53 |
| 26       | Uttar Pradesh    |        33 |        31 |        36 |        30 |        15 |
| 27       | Uttrakhand       |         5 |         5 |         4 |        12 |         7 |
| 28       | West Bengal      |         6 |         7 |        15 |        19 |        11 |
|          | Total            |      1711 |      2495 |      3238 |      3656 |      4622 |