Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has clarified that students will continue to get education loans of up to Rs 4 lakh under the Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme. He rejected reports that the government had reduced the loan amount available to students for higher education.
Choudhary said students and parents should not have any doubts about the scheme. He said education loans of up to Rs 4 lakh are still available for higher studies and the facility will continue as before.
Credit Card Scheme
The Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme provides education loans of up to ₹4 lakh to students in Bihar who have passed the 12th grade and want to pursue higher education.
Students can use credit card for Loan Amount up to ₹4,00,000 for undergraduate, professional, or technical courses (like B.A., B.Sc., B.Tech, or MBBS).
The interest rate is very low. The credit card scheme offers 0% to 1% interest rate, making it heavily subsidized or interest-free for eligible student categories (with minimal 1% interest for general applicants in some banking structures, or 0% for specific groups under state facilitation).
The state government acts as the guarantor and collateral security is needed for credit card.
Government Rejects Claims of Loan Reduction
The clarification came after RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav claimed that the amount available under the scheme had been reduced and scholarships were being stopped.
The Bihar Education Department rejected these claims and said that reports about a reduction in education loans were misleading.
Earlier, students could get education loans of up to Rs 4 lakh through the Bihar State Education Finance Corporation under the Student Credit Card Scheme. The government has now connected the scheme with other central government and banking facilities.
Education Secretary Rajiv Roshan also said that loans of up to Rs 2 lakh would continue to be available through the Bihar State Education Finance Corporation under the expanded arrangement.
Scheme Linked With Central Government Initiatives
The Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme has been linked with the PM Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan Yojana, PM Vidya Lakshmi Portal and banks. The aim is to help more eligible students get financial support for higher education.
According to the Education Department, eligible students can also get education loans of up to Rs 10 lakh through the PM Vidya Lakshmi Yojana. Through PM Vidya Lakshmi Yojana, students can apply for education loans in Public Sector Banks. This scheme does not have a limit and students can get loans easily for their higher studies.
The PM-Vidyalaxmi Portal provides collateral-free and guarantor-free education loans up to ₹7.5 lakh. Govt also provides 3% interest subvention during the moratorium period for students with annual family incomes up to ₹8 lakh.
