Are you a brilliant student wishing to pursue higher studies but do not have enough resources? Well, there is nothing to worry. A good number of nationalized and other banks in India have come up with diverse schemes for providing financial assistance to young scholars, to enable them to fulfill their dreams. According to the RBI guidelines, for studies within the country the ceiling of the loans provided is approximately Rs. 7.5 lakhs, while it is Rs. 15 lakhs for higher studies abroad.

Banks has been directed by the RBI to lower Interest rates for educational loans as per these guidelines.

In order to make higher education more accessible, the existing bank education loan schemes is being liberalized, so that funds will be available at 200 basis points below the Prime Lending Rate (PLR) to the students. Currently, on an average, banks charge PLR for loans up to Rs 4 lakhs and PLR+ 1% for loans over 4 lakhs. As of now, 10.75% is the benchmark PLR rate for loans below Rs 4 lakhs and 11.75% for those above it. These loans could be priced at 8.75% once the proposed subsidy scheme is implemented.

Students are free to approach any bank in their locality to avail the loan facilities. However, it is advisable to approach your / your family’s existing bankers, in case you already have a bank account as this will help you in establishing your credentials.

Most of the banks have formulated their own Educational Loans schemes under various names. The schemes may slightly differ from bank to bank. In most of the case Indian domicile is a prime requirement besides the educational criteria. Most of the banks offer loans up to Rs.4lacs without any margin and the rate of interest is also lowest up to this slab. Beyond this – the banks may charge slightly higher rates and also insist for some margin money. The repayment period normally starts after Course period + 1 year or 6 months after getting a job, whichever is earlier but this may again differ from bank to bank.