Padho Pardesh (Interest Subsidy on Education Loans for Overseas Study)

What was the Padho Pardesh scheme?

Padho Pardesh was a central sector scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs that provided an interest subsidy on education loans for overseas study to students belonging to notified minority communities. Launched in 2013-14, it was designed to improve employability by easing the cost of higher education abroad.

According to the Ministry, under Padho Pardesh the interest payable during the moratorium period. The course period plus one year or six months after getting a job, whichever was earlier: was borne fully by the Government of India for eligible students who took loans under the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) Model Education Loan Scheme. It covered postgraduate-level study, Master's, MPhil and PhD — abroad in priority disciplines such as engineering, management and pure sciences.

Important: Padho Pardesh is now closed. The Ministry of Minority Affairs discontinued the scheme from the 2022-23 academic year, and the Indian Banks' Association notified all banks accordingly. No new applications are accepted. This guide documents the scheme for readers who studied under it or are researching its history.

Who was eligible for Padho Pardesh?

Because the scheme is closed, no one can apply today. The eligibility below is historical, reflecting the rules while Padho Pardesh was operational.

Who could apply (when active):

• Students belonging to a notified minority community.
• Those admitted to an approved Master's, MPhil or PhD course abroad in an eligible field of study.
• Those who had taken an education loan under the IBA Model Education Loan Scheme from a scheduled bank.
• Those within the scheme's total annual family income ceiling and other norms set by the Ministry.

Who could not apply (when active):

• Students from non-minority communities (the scheme was restricted to notified minorities).
• Students pursuing courses in India, or courses below the postgraduate level covered by the scheme.
• Those without a qualifying education loan.

Today, nobody can apply, the scheme has been discontinued and there is no open application window.

What did Padho Pardesh provide?

According to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the benefit was:

• 100% interest subsidy during the moratorium period on the qualifying education loan, meaning the Government of India paid the interest that accrued while the student was studying and for the short grace period after.
• After the moratorium, the borrower resumed paying interest and principal on the loan on normal terms.

There was no fixed lump-sum cap; the subsidy equalled the actual moratorium-period interest on the eligible loan amount.

Why was Padho Pardesh discontinued?

The Ministry discontinued Padho Pardesh from 2022-23 citing:

• Overlap with similar interest-subsidy and scholarship schemes run by other ministries.
• Limited overall benefit relative to its objectives.
• The easier availability of education loans at lower interest rates, which reduced the need for the subsidy.

According to Ministry statements in Parliament, over 14,000 students benefited during the scheme's operation before it was wound up.

How to apply for Padho Pardesh

Padho Pardesh no longer accepts applications. The scheme was discontinued from the 2022-23 academic year, so there is no live application process. For completeness, the historical route was:

1. Secure admission to an approved overseas Master's, MPhil or PhD course.
2. Obtain an education loan under the IBA Model Education Loan Scheme from a scheduled bank.
3. Submit the interest-subsidy claim through the lending bank, which forwarded it to the nodal bank (Canara Bank) and the Ministry for the moratorium-period interest subsidy.

Anyone approached today with an offer to "register" for Padho Pardesh should treat it as a red flag, since the scheme is closed.

Where to verify and what to do instead

The authoritative source is the Ministry of Minority Affairs website (minorityaffairs.gov.in), which carries the Padho Pardesh page and the discontinuation position. Students who were sanctioned the subsidy before closure should route grievances through their lending bank and the nodal bank.

Because there is no direct replacement under minority affairs, students seeking support for overseas study should look at other central and state education-loan interest-subsidy schemes, category-specific scholarships, and their bank's education-loan terms. Editorially, given that Padho Pardesh is closed, this topic may serve readers best as a short historical section within a broader "education-loan interest subsidy" or "overseas study support" pillar page rather than as a live standalone guide.