PM-Vidyalaxmi (Pradhan Mantri Vidyalaxmi)

What is PM-Vidyalaxmi?

Pradhan Mantri Vidyalaxmi (PM-Vidyalaxmi) is a Central Sector scheme of the Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education, approved by the Union Cabinet in November 2024 and applicable to education loans taken after 6 November 2024. The stated objective in the scheme guidelines is that no student should be denied the opportunity to pursue higher education because of financial constraints.

PM-Vidyalaxmi does three separate things:

1. Creates a special loan product, collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans for students admitted on their own merit to a listed Quality Higher Education Institution (QHEI).
2. Provides a 75 per cent credit guarantee by the Government of India on outstanding default for loan sanctions up to Rs 7.5 lakh, irrespective of family income.
3. Provides a 3 per cent interest subvention on loans up to Rs 10 lakh for students whose annual family income is up to Rs 8 lakh.

According to the scheme guidelines, a list of 860 institutes was prepared for 2024-25, and the mission-mode mechanism is meant to cover more than 22 lakh students every year. The scheme applies to all scheduled banks, Regional Rural Banks and cooperative banks, and Canara Bank acts as the nodal bank, coordinating with the Indian Banks' Association, member banks and the Department of Higher Education, and maintaining the PM-Vidyalaxmi portal.

The unified portal has been operational since 25 February 2025 and is available in more than ten Indian languages.

Who is eligible for PM-Vidyalaxmi?

You can apply for the loan if:

• You have secured admission on your own merit to one of the listed Quality Higher Education Institutions in India.
• You were admitted through an open competitive examination or a merit-based admission process.
• You are pursuing a degree or diploma programme at that institution.
• Your family income is any amount, the guidelines state that students of all family income groups are eligible for the loan itself, if they want it.

You are eligible for the 3 per cent interest subvention if:

• Your annual family income is up to Rs 8 lakh.
• You are pursuing any degree or diploma course at a listed QHEI.
• You are not already availing any other central or state government scholarship, interest subvention or fee reimbursement.

You cannot apply if:

• You were admitted through management quota or any similar quota. The guidelines exclude such admissions explicitly.
• You are studying at an Indian campus of a foreign education institution, a foreign campus of an Indian education institution, or a foreign education institution. None of these are covered.
• Your institution is not on the QHEI list published on the portal.
• You are availing another central or state government scholarship, interest subvention scheme or fee reimbursement; such a student is not eligible for PM-Vidyalaxmi benefits.
• You have already used the benefit once. Both interest subvention and credit guarantee are admissible only once, for either an undergraduate, a postgraduate or an integrated course.
• You discontinue the course midstream or are expelled on disciplinary or academic grounds, in which case the benefits are withdrawn. Discontinuation on documented medical grounds is the only exception.

How much benefit does PM-Vidyalaxmi provide?

There is no cut-off on the loan amount. The guidelines state the loan depends on the course fee and other fees charged by the QHEI, plus associated expenses: mess and hostel fees, other refundable and non-refundable fees, the cost of a reasonable-quality laptop, and reasonable living expenses during the course.

The repayment period is up to 15 years excluding the moratorium, which matches the IBA Model Education Loan Scheme. The moratorium is the course period plus one year, and the 3 per cent interest subvention applies to interest accrued on the outstanding loan during exactly that moratorium period.

Banks may require life insurance cover on the student borrower above a threshold each bank sets, and the premium can be added to the loan amount at the borrower's request.

How does PM-Vidyalaxmi work with PM-USP CSIS?

PM-Vidyalaxmi supplements, rather than replaces, the PM-USP Central Sector Interest Subsidy (CSIS) scheme. The interaction set out in the guidelines is:

Under PM-USP CSIS, students with family income up to Rs 4.5 lakh pursuing technical or professional degree courses at NAAC-accredited HEIs or NBA- accredited courses receive full interest subvention during the moratorium on loans up to Rs 10 lakh. A student who qualifies for both takes the CSIS benefit, which is larger.

Which institutions count as Quality HEIs?

The QHEI list is built from three groups, as laid down in the guidelines:

• Top-ranked HEIs in the overall, category-specific and domain-specific rankings of the latest NIRF list published by the Ministry of Education.
• Top-ranked HEIs under state and union territory governments in the latest NIRF list.
• All remaining HEIs governed by the Government of India.

Excluded from the list are Indian campuses of foreign education institutions, foreign campuses of Indian institutions, and foreign institutions. The list of 860 institutes for 2024-25 is updated every year with the latest NIRF ranking, and the guidelines note that placement record may also be adopted as a selection criterion in future.

How to apply for PM-Vidyalaxmi

1. Confirm that your institution appears on the QHEI list published on pmvidyalaxmi.co.in; no listing, no scheme benefit.
2. Register on the PM-Vidyalaxmi portal as a student, using your email and mobile number, and verify with the OTP.
3. Complete the simple two-page unified application form, which the guidelines specify as the standard format for the scheme.
4. Enter your admission details, course, institution and total fee, and add the associated expenses you want the loan to cover.
5. Upload the supporting documents; admission letter, Aadhaar, PAN, income certificate, fee structure, academic marksheets and bank account details.
6. Select the banks you want the application routed to. The scheme covers all scheduled banks, Regional Rural Banks and cooperative banks.
7. Submit the application and track it on the portal as banks review it. The sanctioning bank updates the sanction and disbursement back into the portal automatically.
8. Apply for interest subvention in the same portal once the loan is sanctioned. The Department of Higher Education informs eligible applicants, based on their self-declaration, to file the subvention claim.
9. Keep the loan account live — the guidelines state that subvention is paid only if the education loan account is found live at the time the amount is transferred.

How are interest subvention slots allocated?

Only one lakh fresh interest subventions are granted each year. When applications exceed that, the guidelines apply a sequential method in this order:

1. All-India slots are distributed across states in proportion to population; unfilled slots in a state are redistributed pro rata among the remaining states.
2. Preference to candidates admitted to a government HEI.
3. Preference to technical and professional courses.
4. Preference to candidates who passed Class 12 from a government school.
5. Preference to candidates who passed Class 10 from a government school.
6. Preference to candidates who passed higher secondary from a rural school.
7. Preference to girl students.

The classification of government and rural schools is decided from the latest UDISE+ data.

Who administers PM-Vidyalaxmi?

• Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education; competent authority for interest subvention and credit guarantee, and administrative control of the portal.
• Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance; monitors loan delivery by the banks.
• National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC), competent authority for the operation of the credit guarantee fund.
• Canara Bank: nodal bank, coordinating with IBA and member banks and maintaining the PM-Vidyalaxmi portal.

Help and contact

• PM-Vidyalaxmi toll-free helpline: 1800 1031
• Portal support: +91 20 2567 8300
• Portal: pmvidyalaxmi.co.in, student, bank, ministry and institute logins, the QHEI list and scheme leaflets in more than ten Indian languages
• Your lending bank branch for questions on sanction, disbursement and repayment

Applying on pmvidyalaxmi.co.in is free. No agent or consultant can arrange a PM-Vidyalaxmi sanction, and a bank cannot demand collateral or a guarantor for a loan covered by the scheme.