Education Loan Scheme for Backward Classes, Haryana

What is the Education Loan Scheme for Backward Classes in Haryana?

Education Loan Scheme for Backward Classes is a concessional student loan programme operated by the Haryana Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections Kalyan Nigam, a corporation working under the Department of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, Government of Haryana. The Nigam lends to Backward Class students for professional and technical education at graduate level and above.

According to the scheme description published for the Nigam, the maximum loan is Rs 10,00,000 for study in India and Rs 20,00,000 for study abroad, and interest is charged at 4% per annum, reduced to 3.5% per annum for girl students. Family income must not exceed Rs 6 lakh a year, and MBBS courses carry no income criterion at all.

Those numbers are not coincidental. The National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment lends through state channelising agencies, and the Kalyan Nigam is that agency in Haryana. The loan ceilings and the 4% and 3.5% rates follow the NBCFDC education loan norms, applied in Haryana through the state corporation.

The point of the scheme is straightforward. Professional courses: engineering, medicine, management, law, technology: carry fees that a family living below Rs 6 lakh a year cannot meet from savings, and commercial education loans price themselves several percentage points higher. A 4% loan changes the total cost of a degree substantially over a repayment period measured in years.

Key features

• Loan, not a grant, the money is repayable with interest.
• Rs 10 lakh ceiling in India, Rs 20 lakh abroad.
• 4% interest, 3.5% for girl students.
• Rs 6 lakh family income ceiling, waived for MBBS.
• Sanctioned through the district offices of the Kalyan Nigam.

Who is eligible for the Haryana BC education loan?

You can apply if:

• You belong to a Backward Class notified in Haryana and hold a valid Backward Class certificate.
• You are a resident of Haryana.
• Your family income does not exceed Rs 6 lakh a year, or you are taking an MBBS course, for which no income criterion applies.
• You have secured admission to a professional or technical course at graduate level or above, in India or abroad.

You cannot apply, or you are not eligible, if:

• You do not belong to a Backward Class as notified in Haryana. Scheduled Caste students are served by a separate corporation and separate loan schemes.
• Your family income exceeds Rs 6 lakh a year and the course is not MBBS.
• You are not a resident of Haryana. Each state has its own channelising agency for NBCFDC lending.
• Your course is below graduate level, or falls outside the professional and technical stream the scheme targets.
• You are seeking a scholarship rather than a loan, this money must be paid back.

Because the definition of an eligible "professional or technical" course is where most applications come unstuck, confirm your specific course with the district office of the Kalyan Nigam before you spend time on the file.

What documents are required?

For study abroad, expect the district office to additionally ask for the foreign institution's offer letter, the fee schedule in the local currency and visa documentation.

How to apply for the Haryana BC education loan

1. Confirm your eligibility at the district office of the Haryana Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections Kalyan Nigam — specifically that your course qualifies as professional or technical at graduate level or above, and what security or surety your loan size will need.
2. Update your Parivar Pehchan Patra at meraparivar.haryana.gov.in so that the family income shown there is correct. Haryana reads the Rs 6 lakh income test off this record, and a stale entry is the fastest way to a rejection.
3. Register on saralharyana.gov.in, entering your name, mobile number and email, and verify with the OTP.
4. Open the education loan service for the Kalyan Nigam from the SARAL service list and start the application.
5. Fill the form with your Family ID, course and institution details, the fee amount, the loan amount sought and your bank account number.
6. Upload the documents, Backward Class certificate, income certificate, admission letter, fee structure, marksheets, Aadhaar and passbook.
7. Submit and save the Application ID printed on the acknowledgement.
8. Submit the originals at the district office of the Nigam for verification, sign the loan agreement and any surety papers, and collect the sanction letter. Disbursement usually goes to the institution or to the linked bank account as the sanction letter specifies.

How do you check the status of the loan application?

1. Open saralharyana.gov.in and choose Track Application Status.
2. Select the department and the education loan service, enter your Application ID, and submit.
3. Send an SMS reading SARAL Application ID to 7738299899 from any mobile number.
4. Call the Antyodaya SARAL helpline on 1800-2000-023 between 7 am and 9 pm.
5. For questions about sanction amount, security and the repayment schedule, contact the district office of the Kalyan Nigam, because those are decided on the physical file rather than on the portal.

What are the repayment terms?

Repayment terms are written into the sanction letter, and you should read them before signing. Under the NBCFDC norms that govern this lending, the corporation applies a moratorium of five years on recoveries irrespective of course type or duration, with recovery running for up to ten years after the moratorium ends. NBCFDC also states that a borrower may repay at any time after repayment begins, and that no pre-closure charge is levied for early repayment.

Since the exact schedule for an individual borrower is set by the state channelising agency, ask the district office of the Kalyan Nigam to spell out your instalment amount and start date in writing rather than relying on the general norms.

Why do education loan applications get rejected?

• Income above Rs 6 lakh in the Family ID record, for a non-MBBS course.
• Backward Class certificate missing or expired, or issued by an authority the Nigam does not accept.
• Course not qualifying as professional or technical at graduate level.
• Admission not confirmed. A provisional or conditional letter is often not enough.
• Security or surety not furnished, where the loan size requires it.
• Residence outside Haryana, which sends the applicant to another state's channelising agency.
• Bank account mismatch, where the name on the account does not match Aadhaar.

Where do you complain?

• District office of the Haryana Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections Kalyan Nigam. The first authority on sanction, amount and repayment.
• Department of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, Haryana, through the contacts published on haryanascbc.gov.in.
• Antyodaya SARAL helpline: 1800-2000-023, 7 am to 9 pm, for portal filing and tracking issues.
• CM Window, Haryana's state-wide grievance platform, for unresolved cases.

Applying on SARAL is free. The only money you should ever pay in connection with this scheme is the repayment of the loan itself, on the schedule set out in your sanction letter.