Vidya Lakshmi- Education Loan. This is a scheme to enable all poor and middle-class students who want to pursue the higher education of their choice without any hindrance of funds.
“Vidya Lakshmi is a single window under PM Vidya Lakshmi Karyakaram for students to access information and make applications for educational loans provided by banks as also government scholarships,” it added.
The portal will provide information about educational loan schemes of banks; common educational loan application forms for students; a facility to apply to multiple banks for educational loans; and a facility for banks to download students’ loan applications.
Vidya Lakshmi is a first-of-its-kind portal for students seeking Education Loans. This portal has been developed under the guidance of the Department of Financial Services, (Ministry of Finance), the Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Education) and the Indian Banks Association (IBA). The portal has been developed and is being maintained by NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited.
Students can view, apply and track education loan applications to banks anytime, anywhere by accessing the portal. The portal also provides linkages to National Scholarship Portal.
A student can apply to a maximum of three Banks through the Vidya Lakshmi portal using CELAF.
13 banks have registered 22 educational loan schemes on the Vidya Lakshmi Portal and five banks have integrated their system with the portal. Some of these banks SBI, IDBI Bank and Bank of India, Canara Bank and Union Bank have integrated their system with the portal.
How to Avail the Loan
The applicant must register and log in to the Vidya Lakshmi portal and then fill up the Common Education Loan Application Form (CELAF). The student must provide the necessary details. After filling out the form, the applicant can search for Educational Loan and APPLY as per his/her needs, eligibility and convenience.
Alternatively, the applicant can also search for Educational Loan after login and apply for the suitable Educational Loan by filling in the CELAF.
Disbursal of loan
The approved Educational Loan of an applicant will be disbursed directly by the bank outside the Vidya Lakshmi Portal. Students must contact the bank you have selected.
CELAF
The Common Educational Loan Application Form is the single form which students can fill out to apply for Educational Loan to multiple banks/schemes. CELAF is the application form prescribed by Indian Banks Association (IBA) and accepted by all banks. This form is provided on the Vidya Lakshmi portal to apply for an Educational loan.