The Ministry of Education (MoE), on July 29, 2026, highlighted the Pradhan Mantri Vidyalaxmi (PM Vidyalaxmi) Scheme, a flagship initiative aimed at improving access to higher education by providing collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans to meritorious students admitted to designated Quality Higher Educational Institutions (QHEIs). The scheme also provides 3% interest subvention during the moratorium period for eligible students with an annual family income of up to ₹8 lakh, complementing the existing PM-USP Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme (CSIS).
The scheme currently covers 1,425 QHEIs across India and offers education loans for all degree and diploma programmes without any upper limit on the loan amount, subject to course and related expenses. Loans up to ₹7.5 lakh are backed by a 75% Government credit guarantee, while interest rates are capped at the lending bank's Externally Benchmarked Lending Rate (EBLR) plus 0.5%. The entire application, loan tracking, interest subvention, and grievance redressal process is conducted through a unified digital portal, with subsidies credited through the PM Vidyalaxmi Digital Rupee (CBDC) Wallet.
The Ministry stated that the scheme is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, aiming to remove financial barriers to quality higher education. During FY 2025-26, the portal received 645,514 education loan applications, including 110,667 applications under PM Vidyalaxmi, of which 70,852 loans were sanctioned and 67,728 disbursed. The initiative is intended to promote educational inclusion, gender equity, and equitable access to higher education for students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
[PIB Release ID: 2290972]
