Lok Sabha Question No. 157 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-21
Subject: PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. D. Purandeswari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 157 ANSWERED ON- 21/07/2025

## PM VIDYALAXMI SCHEME

## 157.  DR. D. PURANDESWARI:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  the  details  of  funds  allocated,  sanctioned  and  disbursed  under  the  Pradhan  Mantri Vidyalaxmi Scheme and the financial outlay of the aforementioned scheme;

(b)  the  details  of  the  initiatives  undertaken  to  create  awareness  about  the  Scheme  among parents, particularly among economically weaker sections;

(c)  the  details  of  the  mechanism  in  place  to  monitor  the  performance  and  success  of  the aforementioned scheme;

(d)  the  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  under  the  aforementioned scheme to encourage the holistic development of girls, including soft skills and leadership training;

(e) whether the Government has taken steps to align the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Scheme (PMVS)  with  country's  commitments  to  global  frameworks  such  as  the  United  Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 on quality education and gender equality; and

(f) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

(a): The PM Vidyalaxmi, a new central sector scheme has been launched on 6th November 2024. The main objective of the scheme is to ensure that no student is denied the opportunity to pursue higher education due to financial constraints. Under the scheme, collateral-free and guarantor-free education loan is provided to all the students who get merit-based admission in top Quality Higher Education Institutions (QHEIs) and who desire to avail the education loan and there is no upper limit for this.

The details of loans sanctioned and disbursed under the PM-Vidyalaxmi is as under:

| Scheme Name   | No. of Loans sanctioned as on 15.07.2025   |   Amount disbursed as on 15.07.2025 (₹ crore) |
|---------------|--------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
| PM-Vidyalaxmi | 23,420                                     |                                        996.51 |

Further, for students with annual family income up to ₹ 8 lakh, the scheme provides 3% interest subvention on loans up to ₹ 10 lakhs. Up to one lakh fresh students not getting any other scholarship or interest subvention on education loan will get this interest subvention. An outlay of  Rs.  3,600  Crore  has  been  made  from  2024-25  to  2030-  31,  for  providing  3%  interest subvention benefit for up to 7 lakh fresh students during this period.

(b), (c) and (d): To improve awareness, the scheme guidelines have already been provided in the website of Ministry of Education at https://www.education.gov.in/en/scholarships\_education\_loan. Further, the Indian Banks Association has circulated the guidelines to all the member banks.

A dedicated online platform, the PM Vidyalaxmi portal has been developed on which students can apply for the education loan as well as interest subvention, through a simplified application process  to  be  used  by  all  banks.  The  Portal  is  for  all  Public  Sector  Banks,  Private  Banks, Regional Rural Banks and Cooperative Banks. All these measures aim to create widespread awareness  about  the  scheme  and  help  eligible  students,  including  those  from  rural  and underprivileged areas to avail the benefits of PM-Vidyalaxmi.

Multi-lingual pamphlet of PM-Vidyalaxmi has been developed and uploaded in the PMVL portal. All HEIs have been requested to download and distribute the same to students of their HEI.

All QHEIs have been requested to prominently display the PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme publicity materials within their campuses and actively publicize the dedicated call centre number 18001031 for the PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme.

The  Banks  have  been  requested  to  conduct  workshops/webinars  and  digital  promotions  in collaboration with institution, display PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme details on their website, mobile apps  and  branch  premises,  use  digital  marketing  vis  social  media  platform  such  as Facebook/Twitter/Instagram, setup dedicated education loan help desks by branch at mapped institutions, provide clear, concise brochures and flyers about the Scheme, align relationship managers  to  liaison  with  Nodal  officers  of  the  institutions  for  smoother  processing  and information.

The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has been requested to develop a uniform communication toolkit, including presentations, circulars, and FAQs covering all categories of education loans. All member banks have been asked to launch a nationwide promotional campaign- both prior and during the admission season, including newspaper advertisements and press release, to raise awareness about the PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme.

Member banks have been asked to add taglines of PM-Vidyalaxmi in their existing promotional materials  and  advertisements  for  faster  rollout  and  to  set  up  dedicated  help  desks  for educational loans at branches located near QHEIs during the admission period.

All these measures aim to create widespread awareness about the scheme and help the eligible students, parents including those from economically weaker sections and girl students to avail the benefits of PM-Vidyalaxmi.

The Department of Higher Education (DHE) and the Department of Financial Services (DFS) monitor the progress of education loan submission, processing and disbursement on a regular basis  together  with  the  Indian  Banks  Association  (IBA)  and  banks.  Further,  the  DHE  in coordination with DFS  conduct  meetings with QHEIs,  banks and IBA  for  smooth implementation of the scheme on a regular interval. Workshops are also organized with the QHEIs in collaboration with the UGC, DFS, IBA and the banks to increase awareness of the QHEIs and students.

(e) and (f): The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (M/o MSME) is the nodal Ministry of PM Vishwakarma Yojana. Ministry of MSME has taken concrete steps to align the PM Vishwakarma Scheme with the country's commitments to global frameworks, particularly the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4, relating to quality education and gender equality. The Scheme, launched by the Hon'ble Prime Minister on 17.09.2023, aims to provide  end-to-end  support  to  artisans  and  craftspeople  engaged  in  18  traditional  trades, through components such as skill training, toolkit incentive, credit support, and market linkage. The Scheme promotes quality education by offering structured skill development through basic and advanced training, along with daily stipend, transport allowance, and lodging and boarding. It also advances gender equality by ensuring equal access to benefits for women artisans and craftspeople  across  all  trades,  with  active  tracking  and  targeted  outreach  to  enhance  their participation.

Under  the  Scheme,  as  of  14.07.2025,  out  of 29.96  lakh registrations  under  the  PM Vishwakarma Scheme, about 10.8 lakh are women beneficiaries. Of these, 8.19 lakh women have completed skill training in one of the 18 trades. Further, loans have been sanctioned for 1.48 lakh women beneficiaries amounting to over Rs.1,300 crore

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