Bank of Baroda Launches PM-Vidyalaxmi Education Loan

New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) Bank of Baroda on Thursday announced that it has gone live with the new Pradhan Mantri Vidyalaxmi (PM-Vidyalaxmi) Scheme to provide financial support to meritorious students.

The PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme is an initiative by the central government for students seeking financial assistance to pursue higher education and to ensure that financial constraints do not deprive the youth of India from pursuing quality higher education.

Applicants can digitally apply for an education loan under the PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme from Bank of Baroda through the PM-Vidyalaxmi portal, the public sector lender said in a release.

The bank has 12 dedicated Education Loan Sanctioning Cells (ELSC) and 119 Retail Assets Processing Cells (RAPC), in addition to more than 8,300 branches, to cater to the needs of students from across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Mudaliar, executive director, Bank of Baroda, said the PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme is a path-breaking initiative that seeks to provide financial support to deserving students and will ensure that quality education is accessible to all.

"Further, the entire process is seamless, with end-to-end digital processing of education loans through the portal. At Bank of Baroda, we are delighted to be one of the first banks to have gone live with this scheme," he said.

The PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme is a special loan product that enables collateral-free, guarantor-free education loans, made accessible through an entirely digital application process.

Students who get admission in the top 860 identified Quality Higher Educational Institutions (QHEIs) of the nation are eligible to apply for an education loan under this scheme.

Loan amounts up to Rs 7.5 lakh will be provided a 75 per cent credit guarantee by the Government of Indi, to encourage banks to expand coverage.

Further, to make education loans more affordable to targeted groups, the scheme offers partial/full interest subvention to students from low-income families.

In addition to the PM-Vidyalaxmi Scheme, Bank of Baroda said it offers collateral-free education loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh for all courses in India.

The bank also provides collateral-free education loans up to Rs 40.00 lakh to students pursuing courses in 384 identified premier institutions in India.

With a 63.97 per cent stake, Bank of Baroda is majorly owned by the Government of India. The bank serves its global customer base of over 165 million through around 60,000 touch points spread across 17 countries in five continents and through its various digital banking platforms.