Loan For Foreign Study (E.B.C.)

What is the Loan For Foreign Study (E.B.C.) scheme?

Loan For Foreign Study (E.B.C.) is a Gujarat state loan scheme for students from the Economically Backward Class (EBC) who have secured admission to a diploma or degree course abroad. The scheme sits with the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, whose Director of Developing Castes Welfare administers Gujarat's EBC welfare schemes, and applications are handled through the department's common citizen portal, e-Samaj Kalyan.

The scheme exists because overseas study is priced far beyond what an EBC family can raise, and because commercial overseas education loans in India carry double-digit compounding interest. According to the myScheme listing published by the Government of India for this Gujarat scheme, the loan runs to up to Rs 15,00,000 at 4 per cent interest, and is intended to cover tuition fees and travel costs.

The scheme is commonly referred to in Gujarati as a videsh abhyas loan, which is the phrase most district offices and most families use.

Core parameters, as listed for the scheme:

• Loan ceiling: Rs 15,00,000.
• Interest: 4 per cent.
• Minimum Class 12 marks: 60 per cent.
• Minimum course duration abroad: 1 year.
• Security: property mortgage.
• Route: online on e-Samaj Kalyan, then two printed copies to the district office.

This is a loan, not a grant. The full principal is repayable with interest, and the property offered as security stays encumbered until the loan is cleared.

Who is eligible for the E.B.C. foreign study loan?

You can apply if:

• You belong to the Economically Backward Class category recognised in Gujarat and can produce the certificate that establishes it.
• You are a resident of Gujarat.
• You scored 60 per cent or more in Class 12.
• You hold an admission or offer letter from a foreign institution for a diploma or degree course of at least 1 year.
• Your family income is within the limit notified for the scheme. The myScheme listing for this scheme puts the family income ceiling at Rs 10,00,000; confirm the current figure with the district office before filing, because income ceilings are revised by resolution.
• You can offer property for mortgage as security, whether your own or a guarantor's.
• You hold a bank account in your own name for disbursement.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You do not hold an EBC certificate. Students from SC, ST, SEBC and unreserved categories have their own separate corporations and schemes, and are not eligible here.
• You scored below 60 per cent in Class 12.
• Your course abroad runs for less than 1 year, or is a short certificate or language programme rather than a diploma or degree.
• You have no admission yet. An application in anticipation of admission is not entertained.
• You cannot offer any security. There is no unsecured variant of this loan.
• Your family income exceeds the notified ceiling.
• You intend to study within India. This scheme funds overseas study only.

How much does the scheme lend, and on what terms?

At 4 per cent, the cost of this loan is a fraction of a commercial overseas education loan. On a Rs 15,00,000 borrowing, the difference against a market rate runs to lakhs of rupees across the life of the loan, which is the whole point of the scheme.

Repayment terms, moratorium and instalment schedule are set out in the sanction letter and the loan agreement signed at the district office. Those terms are not published in a single stable form online, so read the agreement before signing and ask the district officer to confirm the moratorium period and the instalment amount in writing.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Loan For Foreign Study (E.B.C.)

1. Open the e-Samaj Kalyan portal at esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in and, under Citizen Login, use New User: Please Register Here to create an account with your name as on Aadhaar, date of birth, Aadhaar number, email and category.
2. Log in and open the foreign study loan application listed under the Developing Castes Welfare directorate's schemes.
3. Fill every section of the form; personal details, address, education, the foreign institution and course, course duration, family income, guarantor and property details, and bank account details.
4. Upload scanned documents; offer letter, Class 12 marksheet, income certificate, EBC certificate, passport, visa, property papers and bank proof — within the portal's file size and format limits.
5. Submit the application online and take a printout of two copies of the submitted form.
6. Submit both printed copies with the original supporting documents to the district office of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, and collect a dated acknowledgement.
7. Complete the security formalities when the sanction is issued, the mortgage deed on the offered property and the loan agreement.
8. Receive disbursement into your own bank account, and keep every fee receipt from the foreign institution, since utilisation may be checked.

How do I check my application status?

Loan For Foreign Study applicants track the file through the e-Samaj Kalyan portal, logging in with the credentials created at registration. The portal shows submission, verification and sanction stages.

Because this scheme has a mandatory offline leg; two printed copies delivered to the district office. A file can look submitted online while sitting untouched because the physical copies never arrived. If the online status has not moved within a few weeks, confirm at the district office that the printed application was received, quoting the acknowledgement.

Why do applications get rejected?

• Class 12 below 60 per cent, which fails at first screening.
• No valid EBC certificate, or a certificate for a different category.
• Family income above the notified ceiling, or an income certificate issued by an authority not competent to issue it.
• Course shorter than 1 year, or a certificate course rather than a diploma or degree.
• Printed copies not submitted to the district office after online filing.
• Property documents incomplete: missing title chain, encumbrance certificate or valuation.
• Admission letter without a fee structure, so the loan requirement cannot be assessed.
• Bank account in a parent's name rather than the applicant's own.

Which other Gujarat foreign study loan should I look at?

Gujarat runs parallel overseas study loans through different bodies, and applying to the wrong one wastes an academic year:

• GUEEDC lends up to Rs 15,00,000 at 4 per cent simple interest to unreserved category students, through gueedc.gujarat.gov.in and e-Samaj Kalyan.
• The Gujarat Backward Class Development Corporation publishes a foreign higher education loan of Rs 15,00,000 with a 6 per cent interest subsidy, alongside a domestic higher education loan of up to Rs 25,00,000 with interest subsidy capped at Rs 1,50,000 a year for three years. Its administrative helpline is 079-23257559, available 10:30 am to 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm on government working days.
• Loan For Foreign Study (E.B.C.) serves the Economically Backward Class.

Check your own category certificate first, then apply under the body that matches it. Filing the same case with two corporations does not improve the odds.

Help and grievance redressal

• e-Samaj Kalyan portal: esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in for registration, application, status and reprints.
• Social Justice and Empowerment Department: sje.gujarat.gov.in, which lists the directorates and district offices.
• District office of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, which receives the printed application and handles security and sanction.

There is no application fee. Sanction is a departmental decision made on the file, and no agent can obtain one for a payment.