Himachal Pradesh Govt To Give Interest-free Education Loan To SC-ST Students

The state government often provides interest-free and affordable loans to students belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes for higher education. Now, Himachal Pradesh has taken an initiative to provide education to SC and ST kids who are below poverty under the corporation’s Education Loan Scheme.

The District Manager of Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, Saurabh Sharma, said that under the corporation’s ‘Education Loan Scheme’, students belonging to SC and ST will be provided interest-free loans. It will be up to a maximum of Rs 75,000 for studying technical subjects and professions after passing 10th or 12th. Apart from this, loans ranging from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1,50,000 will be provided at an annual rate of 4 per cent.

The District Manager further said that the students whose annual income is lower than Rs 1 lakh will become eligible for this Education Loan Scheme. This scheme consists of giving loans for diploma and degree courses like JBT, MBBS, Engineering, Hotel Management, MBA, MSc Nursing, GNM, B.Ed. Loan recovery starts two years after completion of the course or on getting a job, whichever is earlier.

According to Saurabh Sharma, the education loan scheme is being run by the courtesy of the National Scheduled Caste Finance and Development Corporation. Under this scheme, education loans up to Rs 10 lakh are made available. This loan is given only to those students whose family’s annual income is less than Rs 3 lakh. This education loan is made available at a five per cent annual interest rate. Whereas female students get a one per cent discount on the interest rate. He said that all the interested eligible students of District Kangra who want to take advantage of the ‘Education Loan Scheme’ can personally contact the District Manager, Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation, Kangra’s office in Dharamshala.

Recently, the Chhattisgarh government announced that it will provide Interest-free loans to students hailing from economically weaker families in Naxal-affected districts. It is for those students who wish to pursue higher education in technical and vocational courses. The facility will be provided under the CM Higher Education Loan Interest Grant Scheme.