With rising education costs in India, many parents are opting for education loans offered by banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs). Credit rating agency CRISIL says that 90 per cent of such loans are for studying abroad and predicts NBFCs' assets under management in education loans to grow by 40 per cent in FY2023-24.
The Vidya Lakshmi portal has been in place since 2015 to help students in India apply for education loans. The portal has been created under the aegis of the Finance Ministry, the Education Ministry, and the Indian Banks Association.
Forty-three banks are registered on the portal, and 137 loan schemes are listed. Additionally, a list of the registered banks is located at the bottom of the homepage, from which a user can access each bank's website directly. It is beneficial because it provides all the web addresses of banks that lend money in one place; otherwise, it would take a lot of time and effort to find them separately.
How To Apply?
All a student has to do is enter his basic details to register on the portal. A link is sent to verify the registration. After logging into the account, the student can apply for an education loan by filling out the Common Educational Loan Application Form, which all 43 listed banks accept on the portal.
The application process is transparent, fast, and hassle-free, and students can apply to a maximum of three banks/schemes through the form. Interest rates vary depending on the bank and scheme. Students can choose any plan from any bank.
The loan application process is much faster, and grievances can be sent directly to the bank through the portal. Several students have testified on the Vidyarthi website that the portal has helped them save a lot of time and money. Many say that the loan was sanctioned in a week.
Other Benefits
The portal also allows students to view, apply, and track their loan applications anywhere and anytime. In addition, the portal provides linkages to the National Scholarship Portal, where pre-matric and post-matric scholarships for minorities, tribals, and scheduled casts are available.
Previously, students had to visit a bank in person to apply for an education loan, which involved a lot of paperwork. With Vidya Lakshmi, the application process is completely online, making it more accessible to students from remote areas. Vidya Lakshmi also offers a link to a scholarship initiative called Vidyasaarathi, which has helped students from even the remotest areas of India find financial assistance for their studies. Through Vidyasaarathi, students can apply for scholarships funded by corporates as a part of their CSR initiative.
If a student wishes to avail government-run subsidy-related education loan, there is a linkage to another portal that will help you with it, called Jansamarth. With just a few simple queries, the portal will display Central schemes that offer you the subsidy, the maximum amount of subsidy, and the loan amount that applies to this subsidy.
The portal also includes a section with details of colleges and rankings of higher education institutes. In addition, all links to government departments that provide scholarships and financial incentives are listed on the portal.
According to Indian Banks Association guidelines, loan applications should be processed within 15 days of receipt of the completed application form and supporting documents, and the bank should communicate the sanction or rejection to the applicant. The portal is maintained by Protean eGov Technologies Limited.
